Spikes in demand for hospital transfusion services

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Healthcare Operations Management

Background:

• Spikes in blood component demand present significant challenges for hospital transfusion services.
• Established metrics for characterizing demand volatility in blood components are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To measure and characterize the volatility of demand for blood services at a major urban academic hospital.
• To establish simple metrics for quantifying demand spikes in transfusion services.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 4416 consecutive hours of blood service demand from July to December 2019.
• Quantification of demand spikes, frequency, clustering, and distribution patterns across shifts.
• Assessment of component distribution during peak demand hours.

Main Results:

• 16% of assessed hours experienced demand spikes, averaging 3.8 spikes/day.
• Demand spikes were clustered, with shorter intervals between spikes during evening and night shifts.
• 36% of distributed blood components were during peak demand hours.

Conclusions:

• Transfusion service demand exhibits high and unpredictable volatility.
• An approach to benchmark demand spikes is provided, relevant for hemovigilance and staffing strategies.
• Understanding demand patterns is crucial for optimizing laboratory staffing and ensuring patient care.