Blood Transfusion Improvements Save $695K Annually

THE CHALLENGE

Blood transfusions save lives but are a costly, limited resource. As part of its efforts to improve patient outcomes and decrease clinical variation, Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center (New Hanover) reviewed blood utilization care standards to evaluate their effectiveness.

THE PROJECT

New Hanover interdisciplinary performance excellence blood utilization team reviewed the literature and best practices, endorsing and implementing the American Association of Blood Banks recommendations as the organization’s standard of care for appropriate blood transfusions. The organization leveraged data from the Health Catalyst^® data platform to identify, quantify, and evaluate opportunities for improvement and the effectiveness of interventions.

New Hanover implemented standard blood product administration order sets that include a single unit of packed red blood cells at a time, with restrictions based on hemoglobin thresholds for specific clinical conditions. The interdisciplinary team reviews performance data, identifies when care deviates from the expected care standard, and provides education and feedback to clinicians as needed to improve adherence and care quality.

THE RESULT

In just one year, New Hanover’s data-informed improvement efforts have resulted in improved care quality, decreased blood transfusions, reduced the risk of adverse events, and lowered costs

• $695K annual cost savings.
• 1,554 transfusions prevented.
• 16 adverse events avoided.

“Our data-informed blood utilization care standards have improved patient outcomes and reduced clinical variation, saving nearly $700K.”

Claire Corbett, MBA, Director, Performance Excellence, Novant Health

ADDITIONAL READING

• Data-Informed Patient Blood Management Saves $1.2M
• Engaging Providers to Transform Blood Transfusion Practices
• $17.4M Saved Through Analytics-Driven Patient Blood Management Improvements
• Blood Conservation Program Yields Millions of Dollars in Savings
• Reducing Variation and Costs by $7M with a Scalable Improvement Framework and Analytics Platform