How do we obtain and maintain patient blood management certification?

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Administration
• Quality Improvement
• Transfusion Medicine

Background:

• The Joint Commission (TJC) and Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB) established a patient blood management (PBM) certification program.
• This program offers external validation for existing PBM initiatives within healthcare institutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline a structured approach for guiding PBM programs through the certification process.
• To identify key steps, challenges, and metrics associated with achieving PBM certification.

Main Methods:

• Formation of a multidisciplinary working group comprising subject matter experts in PBM.
• Development of facility-specific policies and procedures for standardized PBM practices.
• Utilization of resources like TJC and AABB standards, alongside electronic medical records (EMR) for performance tracking.

Main Results:

• Initial steps involve multidisciplinary buy-in and establishing an institutional transfusion committee for oversight.
• Metrics demonstrated high compliance with transfusion thresholds (97.9% average) and significant cost savings ($124,856.70 in 2020).
• Single unit red blood cell (RBC) transfusions increased from 62.25% to 72.00% over three years, exceeding the 60% target.

Conclusions:

• PBM certification serves as a benchmark for successful institutional PBM programs.
• Certified facilities report substantial reductions in blood transfusions and notable financial savings.