TRM.41350 (label or tag must remain attatched during txn)

[tracylab]

This goes out to all Meditech Blood Bank users. Does Meditech have an easy fix for this CAP requirement? We have tried attatching the issue/transfuse card to the unit with a label gun, but the nurses tear it off the moment they get ready to hang the unit. We also have tried using a hospital registration label to label the unit with the patient info at the time of issue. This fails to meet the requirement of donor # & type, and pt. type. Any ideas short of filling out a separate label by hand would be much appreciated.

[Lcsmrz]

We currently hand-write a tie tag. but we're still trying to get our Meditech system to generate a label using the "Crossmatch Tag" function by checking the Verify screen box. Right now, it can only generate an "Issue/Transfuse Tag" using the reprint function.

IT has been working with Meditech on this for at least 6 months. Annoying ...

[Mabel Adams]

We attach the IT card from Meditech to the unit and only occasionally hear of a nurse taking it off. We have been on MT about a year and had a removable transfusion slip (along with a manually completed Hollister label) on the units before that which we no longer have.

Maybe you need some bright stickers on the IT card that say "tag must remaiin attached to unit throughout transfusion!" After a few years maybe you wouldn't need them anymore.

Also, maybe there is a reason they remove it. Does it look like it has spaces for them to fill out? Is it in their way? Do you have traveling nurses that do it mostly? Time for "root cause analysis" to the rescue!

[rcollins]

You could try printing a separate "crossmatch card" to attach to the unit. In Meditech look under blood bank, result entry, crossmatch cards. It has complete unit and patient information. That way the nurses won't have to rip off the issue/trans. slip to record vitals and sign. I've never had to use it because we use the Hollister system but I've messed around with it before. The only thing it doesn't have is our medical record #--I'm not sure if you can customize the info on it, though. Good Luck.

[bbbirder]

We print both a "Crossmatch card" and an IT card in Meditech. The XM card is printed on a label printer in our BB (4 x 1) and we put it on a tie tag and tie it onto the unit. The IT card is a transfusion worksheet that the nurses use for recording the vitals, etc. Both of these are custom, NPRs, so they have on them exactly what we need. You should be able to reprint either one of these.

I agree with Mabel, time to find out why they are cutting the tag off?

Linda Frederick

[tracylab]

What version of Meditech are you using? I don't have "Crossmatch Card" as an option in my BB module. We have up to v5.6.1 loaded in our test system.

Tracy Canfield

[bbbirder]

Check Pg 4 of the LIS Customer Defined Parameters and make sure you have a Crossmatch card defined.

Linda F

[Gerald]

We use a 3 part preprinted form. The upper left 1/4 of the form is blank and this is where MT is formatted to print the patient and unit info. The 3rd part of the form is card stock and the upper left 1/4 is perforated. This section is torn off and attached to the unit a plastic tag from a Tachit gun. Part 1 and 2 of the form had preprinted areas for id, vitals and transfusion reaction instructions. We are CS 5.54.

[jhaig]

You'd be surprised at how effective it is to write up a nurse that has removed a tag during transfusion and have that write-up reviewed by an inspector. As a result of more frequent transfusion audits, this practice has been drastically reduced at my facitiliy (at least as far as I know).

We also use a pre-printed 3-part form in which nursing records all information about the transfusion, including vital signs. The form is attached to the unit with a tagging gun. A copy is returned to the blood bank for our records when the transfusion is complete.

[jcoburn]

I wrote a Meditech label application which produces a gummed label that includes all of the required data. Patient Name, blood type, medical record #, Donor number, blood type, expiration date, compatibility statement, date of crossmatch, etc. I would be happy to help you with this, contact me @ jcoburn@ccpathology.com

[sgoertzen]

We also print a crossmatch card (for crossmatched units) or an assignment card (for assigned units like PLT, FFP, CRYO) on a printer that has a roll of 1.5 by 4 inch sticker labels. This then gets attached to a card stock tag which is attached to the product using a labeling "gun". Actually, this is how we "tag" the units prior to issue. We generate the IT card (form) at the time of issue. We have no problem with the nurses detaching the tag from the products. They have no reason to. We have created our own custom crossmatch cards and assignment cards as well as a custom IT card.