Meditech users:

 

We have just installed a custom (not a rule but custom hard code) in C/S version 5.66 that causes all specimens to expire at 2359 regardless of the time of specimen collection.  It will not be generally available as a DTS.

 

If you want this feature, you will have to press Meditech for it.

And why wouldn't they make this a DTS?  Meditech seems to be so stubborn regarding blood bank enhancements.  I was finally able in v5.65 to use min and max expire hrs to calculate outdates CLOSE to 2359, but the best I could do was some time between 2201 and 2359, depending on when it was drawn.  Oh, the frustration of computer systems!

I have autorelease XM hours set to 72 and autorelease time at 2359. The time seems to override the 72 hours and extend past it. This has worked fine for us for 4 or 5 years. Am I missing something?

I have autorelease XM hours set to 72 and autorelease time at 2359. The time seems to override the 72 hours and extend past it. This has worked fine for us for 4 or 5 years. Am I missing something?

 

Maybe. 

 

What is your entry for Specimen Expiry Hours in the  BBK Custom Defined Parameters?  For example, if your default entry is 72 hours, and a specimen was collected at 1200. Then Meditiech will expire that specimen at noon on day 3.  However, your crossmatches don't expire until 2359 on day 3. 

 

So, there is crossmatched blood in your refrigerator for 12 hours after the blood sample has expired.  This is my understanding.

 

Does Meditech display any warning when you issue blood using an expired blood sample?

Maybe. 

 

What is your entry for Specimen Expiry Hours in the  BBK Custom Defined Parameters?  For example, if your default entry is 72 hours, and a specimen was collected at 1200. Then Meditiech will expire that specimen at noon on day 3.  However, your crossmatches don't expire until 2359 on day 3. 

 

So, there is crossmatched blood in your refrigerator for 12 hours after the blood sample has expired.  This is my understanding.

 

Does Meditech display any warning when you issue blood using an expired blood sample?

 

You have it correct, Dansket.  Using your example above, if you try to issue the blood at 1500 it will still be XM'd to the patient, but you will receive a warning message that the specimen expired three hours ago.  You can do it, but it requires authorization to override that warning.  The same message will be received by nursing if they are using TAR to document their transfusions, and believe me, that makes them EXTREMELY nervous.

What you're both saying makes sense. I've tried it twice in test, though, issuing a unit after 72 hours but before 2359 on that 3rd day after phlebotomy, but I'm not getting an override warning, and nothing is showing up on the override report. It just let me sail through the issue string. The crossmatch was on my Old Crossmatch Report indicating the XM was expiring at 2359. The Specimen Expire hours are set for a minimum of 71, maximum of 72.

 

Our nurses are not using TAR (yet).

 

I went to the nice, big, comprehensive systems procedure manual provided by Meditech to check exactly how this works, but I must have misplaced it. Can't find it anywhere.

Dr. Pepper,

 

Per Meditech, Every time you pull an expired specimen into any routine, including the BBK Issue Units Routine, you will get a message that says:
 
"Warning: Specimen was collected ** hours ago and expired @@ hours ago."
 
The user will be asked to select whether or not he or she would like to Stop, Continue, or Edit.  So you can bypass it, but anytime that a user does it will show up in the BBK Override Warning Report.

 

Dan

 

Edited November 18, 201311 yr by Dansket

On ‎11‎/‎11‎/‎2013 at 10:12 AM, Dr. Pepper said:

I went to the nice, big, comprehensive systems procedure manual provided by Meditech to check exactly how this works, but I must have misplaced it. Can't find it anywhere.

Bahahahahahahahahaha. I love this.