Data Driven Quality Improvement: It's Time to Take the Next Step
Program Code: 9315-QE
Monday, October 26, 2009
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM (ET)

MODERATOR
Toni Mattoch, MA, MT (ASCP), SH, SBB, America's Blood Centers

SPEAKERS
Ruth Sylvester, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB, Americas Blood Centers
Patricia Cappelli, BS, CQA(ASQ), South Texas Blood and Tissue Center
Sharon O'Callaghan, MT(ASCP), FDA/CBER

DESCRIPTION
The 1980s and 1990s were a tumultuous time for blood banks with the recognition that HIV was transmitted by blood. This led to an ever increasing number of donor screening questions, infectious disease tests, and regulatory oversight. It was also accompanied by an explosion in the number of errors being made. Implementation of the FDA quality systems in 1995 and the requirement to identify, correct and report errors lead to a substantial increase in the number of reportable errors, now called Blood Product Deviations (BPDs), reaching a peak in 2003. The number of reports has reached a plateau and remained constant over the past several years. New approaches can transform the current system, based on detection and correction of errors, to a data-driven system focused on error prevention. This workshop will review some of the available approaches and their future impact in blood banking.