How do we improve blood product administration audit rates

Background: Failure to comply with institutional and national standards for blood product administration poses patient safety risks. Monitoring adherence to blood product administration policy is important for maintaining patient safety and ensuring regulatory agency compliance.

Study design and methods: This post-implementation quality improvement project evaluated an electronic paging system that was developed to facilitate perioperative blood product administration audits.

Results: Of the 57 audits conducted, 55 (96.5%) audits were fully completed. Anesthesia providers verified the patient name and medical record number (MRN) on the patient's armband with the product ID tag in 36.5% (n = 20) of audits. Anesthesia providers ensured the name and MRN on the armband matched the compatibility label on the blood product in 23% (n = 23) of audits.

Discussion: Ongoing surveillance of blood product administration practices is needed to monitor adherence to blood product administration policy, promote patient safety, and avoid imminent financial consequences from noncompliance to national regulatory standards.