Blood inventory management: hospital best practice

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Supply Chain Logistics
• Transfusion Medicine

Background:

• Blood is a perishable product requiring careful inventory management to avoid shortages and wastage.
• Balancing sufficient blood stock for 100% supply with minimizing time expiry losses is a significant challenge in transfusion laboratories.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify best practices for red blood cell inventory management in hospital transfusion laboratories.
• To provide recommendations for minimizing losses due to time expiry.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of perishable inventory management models.
• Analysis of historical UK blood supply chain data to identify hospitals with good inventory management and low wastage.
• Seven case studies involving interviews with transfusion laboratory managers.

Main Results:

• Contrary to existing literature, complex inventory models are not the primary drivers of good performance.
• Skilled, regularly trained, and experienced transfusion laboratory staff are crucial for effective inventory management.
• Electronic crossmatching, inventory transparency, and simplified management procedures also contribute to low wastage.

Conclusions:

• The quality and expertise of transfusion laboratory staff are paramount for successful blood inventory management.
• Simple, effective procedures and technology like electronic crossmatching enhance inventory control and reduce red blood cell wastage.