Background/Case Studies: Evaluation of a patient’s blood bank (BB) results in our electronic medical record (EMR) was convoluted, requiring multiple steps by nurses or physicians to confirm they had completed required testing, such as confirmed blood type and active antibody screen. To confirm testing had been completed, clinical teams made frequent phone calls to the transfusion service, interrupting both clinical and laboratory workflows and delaying clinical decision-making. We developed an interface, specific to clinician’s needs, and embedded within our EMR. This is an addition to the previously reported interface that was built to improve efficiency for pathologist workflow. The goal was to improve access, clarity, and efficiency of patient-specific blood bank and related laboratory results. To our knowledge, this new interface also does not exist in any other medical system. Herein we report on results after implementation.
Study
Design/Methods: Areas for improvement were identified in our EMR (EPIC Systems, Madison WI) to improve efficiency in locating pertinent lab results. We created a novel interface, launched in August 2024 (Figure 1), utilizing some of the build from our pathology focused interface.
To evaluate its impact, we analyzed incoming phone call logs from locations with the highest volume of calls to BB to confirm patient results (operating room locations). The period of analysis was for one month prior to implementation as compared to the same month one year later. Additionally, voluntary pre- and post-implementation surveys were distributed to providers of patients in the same locations to assess perceived utility and satisfaction with the new interface.
Results/Findings: Phone logs revealed a 27.6% decrease in calls in the post-implementation period (from 4022 calls to 2912). Post-implementation respondents (N=29) were twice as likely to report that they were extremely satisfied and that it was extremely easy to find blood bank results than pre-implementation respondents (N=8). Pre-implementation, respondents indicated it “takes a lot of active searching to find the results and sometimes still requires calling [BB],” and that they felt “the information should be easily accessible by all.” Post-implementation, respondents indicated that they "know where to look for results.”
Conclusions: Implementation of a transfusion dashboard within the EMR was associated with a meaningful reduction in phone call volume to the transfusion service, suggesting improved workflow efficiency and clinician self-sufficiency. While the pre-implementation survey data were limited, post-implementation feedback supports the dashboard’s perceived value. Ongoing data collection and longitudinal analysis will further assess the durability and scope of its impact.
