Is 'request form' a requirment to identify a pateint before transfuison sampling?

[tangx]

Hi Rashmi, thanks for your reply.

Our hospital BT policy clearly stated that 'complete the sample request form and take this to the patient's bedside in order to positively identify the correct person to be bled'.
Due to the handwritten request forms, the time of when the request form is completed is not possible to be identified. The issue has only be highlighted after OCS generated request forms because there is 'form generated time'. Some of request forms were generated 20 minutes or 30 minutes after the sample taken time (PDA labelled).

For me, the collection of the sample is not performed as one continue, uninterrupted event at the patient bedside, and the patient is not positively identified to ensure he/she is the right patient to bled. It is not the first time patient was given wrong wristband at clinical area.

As Simon Ennis said, the OCS printed request forms did reduce the reject samples compared with handwritten forms. However since BT starts to reject samples with time mismatch even though the details are correct, there are lot of pressure from clinicians.

It will be discussed at HTT and HTC meeting and hopefully they can understand the importance of it.

[Rashmi]

Hi tangx,
You are taking all the right steps and rejecting appropriately. Hopefully the HTC will not accept that these samples can be used-otherwise the Trust policy will need re-writing and risk assessing etc. Again, this is for your TP and Consultant to address with the Clinicians.

Let us know how things go.
bw

[EClarke]

What does your IT department say? The times should be the same so any lag should be reported to them. I would have thought the labels wouldn’t print unless the request form was generated first it does seem out of order to me.

[Simon Ennis]

Not entirely sure what PDA labelled is? With IT we are entering into a brave new world, which isn't always a good thing! Unless it is done with considered steps.
If using a full ICE system the form could be electronic? Scanning at the Bedside of the patients wrist band might instruct the sample taker to take a sample for Transfusion and contemporaneously produce a printed label with PID and Lab no. included....Ahhh.
BUT whether electronic or hard copy the request MUST be timed prior to taking the sample.
Practically here we sometimes have that problem as a Dr may complete the request a day before taking, this is where the manual sign off on the form comes in as that MUST match what is written on the sample.

[Lumuss]

We have only electronic copies now. I can share a file of the Procedure for Sample Collection and Blood Transfusion (pdf). The Sample acceptance policy shouldn't differ much I think. But you need to clarify this with the IT dep.