The Drive Towards More Efficient Blood Collection

One crucial element of proper patient care is getting accurate test results—especially from the delicate process of blood collection. But the common problem known as hemolysis, the breakdown of red blood cells, can be costly, requiring a patient to undergo an additional blood draw procedure.

So in 2009, Sarasota Memorial Hospital began working with BD to minimize hemolysis rates for blood samples sent to the clinical laboratory from all areas of the hospital. The goal of its nursing, phlebotomy and laboratory teams: bring hemolysis rates down to two percent in the Emergency Care Center (ECC).

"Getting accurate lab results to make informed medical decisions is always a function of having good patient samples to test," said Charlene Harris, Director of Laboratory Services, Sarasota Memorial Health Care System. "One small breakdown in the blood collection process can have a significant impact on the timeliness, cost and quality of patient care." Said Harris, "While Sarasota Memorial has long enjoyed relatively low hemolysis rates, we were committed to doing even better."

Working together, BD and Sarasota Memorial developed a standardized blood collection protocol, educated nurses and phlebotomists on best practices and encouraged use of proper blood collection products. Since adopting the new practices in 2009, Sarasota Memorial has successfully maintained a hemolysis rate below the two percent goal—in the ECC and across the health system—and well below the national average of five to seven percent.

Altogether, from June 2009 to March 2011, Sarasota Memorial reduced its hospital-wide hemolysis rate by 67 percent. In the ECC, where the project began, the hospital reduced the hemolysis rate by 93 percent during that same period. The Sarasota Memorial team continues to reinforce the importance of these efforts. They now monitor and publish hemolysis rates per unit and hospital-wide—and re-educate units that experience a spike in hemolysis.