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BLOOD PRODUCT WASTAGE - QT4
QT4
Blood for transfusion is a precious resource. At a minimum, wastage of blood that is not out-of-date represents a financial loss to the health care system. More ominously, systemic wastage of blood may reflect an environment of care that is out of control and could pose risks to patient safety.
Enrollment in this program assists laboratories meet regulatory requirements as follow:
CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program Checklist statements TRM.40875 which requires the transfusion service medical director to monitor and audit transfusion practices to ensure the appropriate use of blood, TRM.30800, Disposition Records, and TRM.32275, Component Records, regarding recording use of each blood or component product from receipt to final disposition.
The Joint Commission Standards QSA.05.02.01, adequate blood and blood components, QSA.05.03.03, requirements for policies and procedures for returning unused blood products to blood transfusion services, and QSA.05.22.01, records of blood product disposition.
AABB Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services assessment 8.2 which requires transfusing facilities to have a peer-review program that monitors transfusion practices for blood components.
Objective
This study will compare the rates of blood product wastage (ie, units discarded in-date) in participating hospitals and track rates of improvement over time.
Data Collection
On a monthly basis, participants will use blood bank records to obtain information on the total number of units transfused for each type of blood component. Participants will track the number and type of blood units that are wasted in-date and the circumstances of wastage. This monitor includes the following types of blood and its components: whole blood cells (allogeneic), red blood cells (allogeneic), frozen plasma, platelet concentrates, single donor platelets, and cryoprecipitate.
Performance Indicators
Overall blood wastage rate (%)
Wastage rates by blood component type (%)
Performance Breakdown
Breakdown of circumstances of wastage (%)
Shipping Schedule
Shipment A: December 9, 2024
Shipment B: March 10, 2025
Shipment C: June 9, 2025
Shipment D: September 8, 2025
Additional Information
Participants in this program receive:
User Guide
Templates and instructions for data collection
Quarterly reports that include fingerprint clusters, customer-defined groups, and all institution comparisons
Select Q-PROBES and Q-TRACKS studies to support your quality improvement initiatives.
Preanalytic
Analytic
Postanalytic
Anatomic Pathology
Clinical Pathology
Turnaround Time
Patient Safety
Microbiology
Transfusion Medicine
Chemistry/ Hematology
Customer Satisfaction
Q-PROBES
Laboratory Staffing Ratios QP251 (QPR-A)
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Assessment of Consistency of Body Fluid Morphologic
Observations (QPB10/QPB25)
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Assessment of Consistency of Peripheral Blood
Morphologic Observations (QPC10/QPC25)
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Assessment of Consistency of Gram Stain Morphologic Observations (QPD10/QPD25)
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Q-TRACKS
Blood Culture Contamination (QT2)
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Laboratory Specimen Acceptability (QT3)
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In-Date Blood Product Wastage (QT4)
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Satisfaction with Outpatient Specimen Collection (QT7)
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Stat Test Turnaround Time Outliers (QT8)
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Critical Values Reporting (QT10)
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Corrected Results (QT16)
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Outpatient Order Entry Errors (QT17)
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*The CAP requires accredited laboratories to have a quality management plan that covers all areas of the laboratory and includes benchmarking key measures of laboratory performance (GEN.13806, GEN.20316, COM.04000). The Joint Commission requires accredited hospitals to regularly collect and analyze performance data (PI.01.01.01, PI.02.01.01). CLIA requires laboratories to monitor, assess, and correct problems identified in preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic systems (§493.1249, §493.1289, §493.1299).