Jennifer Hunt Co-Authors Article in Tennessee Medicine E-Journal

Jennifer Hunt, Instructor and Coordinator, Health Care Management Certificate for the Department of Health Services Management and Policy in the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, has co-authored an article in the Tennessee Medicine E-Journal.  The article, Resource Management: Efficient Utilization of Blood Transfusion: Lessons from the Blood Bank, covers the utilization and management of blood by Mountain States Health Alliance health care system.  Olivia Luzzi, alumna of the College’s Master of Public Health program in Health Services Administration, and Dr. Andrew Fletcher of ARUP Laboratories were also authors.

Blood is a vital resource that is solely dependent on generous donors. Approximately 36,000 units of red blood cells, 7,000 units of platelets, and 10,000 units of plasma are needed every day in the United States. Since blood cannot be manufactured in a laboratory, and since only 10% of the eligible donor population donates, efficient utilization and management of this scarce resource is required.

In 2013, changes were made across Mountain States Health Alliance’s Physician Order Entry system that required physicians to specify reasons blood was being ordered for patients.  In 2014, an interdisciplinary team at Mountain States began collecting data from the order entry system and from the laboratory information system to assess the number of units of blood a doctor ordered for any given patient and the reason why blood was being given.

Through monitoring the supply and implementing policy changes, Mountain States Health Alliance was able to sustain a 20% reduction in blood utilization overall since the inception of the project. Mountain States was also able to save approximately $250,000 over a one-year period. This change in policy not only produced monetary and resource savings, it also reduced the risk of adverse transfusion reactions and created a more patient-centered approach to supplying and ordering blood for the patients of the health system.

"This project is a great example of how quality improvement (QI) and LEAN techniques can be implemented as a low cost solution that can prove to have a significant impact, both in material and financial resources, throughout a hospital system,” stated Ms. Hunt. “I believe the results speak for themselves in terms of the success of this project and are certainly something that needs to be celebrated by all those involved."