AABB standards require that any record that is not an original must be designated a copy. When the computer is down, we generate our records on paper. After the computer comes back up, we enter all of our results from the paper. Does anyone else do this? If you do, how do you mark your computer record as a copy?

Thanks!

We simply keep the written records filed as the original but do not indicate anywhere that the computer information is a "copy". I can't think of a realistic way of doing that even if I wanted to and I can't see a good reason to try.

With a previous information system we used all staff had a "recovery ID" in addition to their normal user ID. When manual documentation was recovered from downtime into the computer with the actual dates and times of performance, staff used their recovery IDs to indicate that the data was recovered and that original documentation was on paper.

Why would your computer downtime worksheets be any different from worksheets some facilities utilize prior to computer entry. I would think that once the information is entered in the computer, the computer records ARE the originals. If you consider it otherwise, how long do you keep these computer downtime forms?

I asked for a ruling from the Standards committee on this before I made my post. This was their reply:

"The facility should have a process to be able to identify in the computer system what records are original and which ones are not. The computer records that are entered that are not originals (those that were previously paper) are copies."

This means that if your results do not go directly into the computer under any circumstance, the computer record is a copy.

We keep the downtime records for a year.

I've always assumed downtime records were "temporary" copies. We enter our downtime data into the computer system, then audit them for accuracy before filing the papers for a year; the computer record is our permanent record.

Larry Smrz, MBA, MT(ASCP)SBB, CQA(ASQ)

Indianapolis, IN

For those who are computerized:

When you have a computer downtime and enter your results on paper instead of directly into the computer, how do you mark the subsequent computer entry as a copy? AABB standards (6.2.1.1) requires a process to identify copies as such.

We currently do not indicate this in our computer reports. We do save our original downtime records. It could probably be done by a simple comment in the particular accession number involved. I remember a similar thread at an earlier also started by adiescast. I have copied the link to that thread.

http://www.bloodbanktalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233&highlight=computer+copy

We don't mark the computer record as a copy. We do keep the original paper for the required time. I think when this standard was written no one gave much thought to the computer. It's not something I plan on spending much time worrying about.

When we do the computer entry AFTER a downtime, we use the generic computer user ID of DOWNTIME. This signals any one looking at the record that is a COPY of the results and has been entered into the computer from a paper record.

Just from an assessment standpoint, I would have to say that there is no such thing as a "temporary" copy. The original of a record is the one that was recorded at the time the test is read, whether that is in a computer or on a worksheet. Anything that is recorded from the original is, by definition, a copy.

We have a self inking stamp, three lines

"DATE COPIED"

adjustable date

"BY"

The process is in our Document and Record SOP.

We send paper records to an outside storage company.

We have a monthly quality monitor for computer records including DONOR, PATIENT and INTERFACE.

I hope this helps.