I was wondering if anybody has had any experience with the company Hemoconcepts. It appears that they come in and assess ways to reduce blood use by evaluating your programs, speaking with physicians and so forth. Though it appears that you would actually need a physician to be on board with the whole project as there is a week long seminar to attend and since I'm having trouble with them sticking to our transfusion criteria....I don't think I'd have much luck. Thanks.

Why doesn't your peer review program deal with the outliers for transfusion? If they won't, you should bring it up at your JCAHO/CAP/AABB isnpections. Once you are cited for non-compliance, compliance should improve. Or - - - you could always have the Medical staff approve new criteria for component transfusion.

Well, here is the thing. I took over the supervisor position about a year ago. We have no formal transfusion committee, I would put the outliers together for the month, they would go to a nurse auditor and then back to our Pathologist who would determine if the transfusions need to be sent to Peer Review, I would then forward them on to someone in PI. Well after seeing that the same doctors were still transfusing, I inquired about what was being done with them once PI got them. Turns out they were filed away and nobody did anything with them. Some process huh? So I am in the final stages of revamping that whole process and I will send letters to those that fall out (signed by Path) and trend for 3 or more per quarter, then PI will do something (supposedly) with them. So will have to wait to see if that will do anything.

But anyway, someone had mentioned the hemocepts group to our lab director and thought I'd check here to see if anyone had any experience with them and if it was worth pursuing.

We are a 250 bed community hospital, Hemoconcepts was contracted with us for about 3 years. They are no longer here. Expensive!!

Physician engagement it the key to this. As David mentioned the peer review process is a good way to have docs evaluate tx practices.

Our tx committee consists of our Medical Director, hospital VP of Med Affairs, and one other doc. I've found that if physicians drive the committee you have a much better chance of success.