Congress Abstracts 2006

182

REDUCTION IN BLOOD SPECIMEN TURNAROUND TIME. Jane Caplinger, RN, OCN^®, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI.

Due to the high volume of central lines on our oncology unit, most blood specimens are drawn by nursing staff. Barriers to timely blood specimen collection and processing include: staffing; prioritization; hospital structure and system complexity; supply availability; and resistance to change.

The purpose of this project was to reduce blood specimen turnaround time on a 48-bed adult inpatient oncology unit in a large metropolitan area teaching hospital. Patients, physicians and nursing staff complained that lab results were not available until late in the day. This resulted in additional phone calls and treatment delays. Quality indicators included blood collection, delivery, and completion times, as well as the time blood was sent from Blood Bank for transfusion. This data, along with increasing hospital costs and competition, necessitated the need to change.

An audit of blood collection, delivery, completion, and delivery times was completed. A literature review was done. An interdisciplinary team was formed. Equipment needs and system changes were identified. A new process was piloted and evaluated. The success of this process change will be shared throughout our institution.

Time study results were reviewed and interrupted. Blood collection, delivery, completion, and delivery times were compared to pre-implementation statistics. Patient, physician and staff satisfaction were surveyed.