Improving Efficiency In Patient Identification And Blood Tracking, UK

Main Category: Blood / Hematology
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 20 Mar 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Avery Dennison Corporation's Printer System Division has announced that it has been appointed by Dorset County Hospital to implement its new TERVIA TM blood tracking system. Dorset County Hospital will be the first hospital in the South West of England to implement the TERVIA TM pathfinder ® system.

Avery Dennison has developed the TERVIA TM blood tracking system due to demand for a more accurate method of tracking blood samples. Hospitals across the country frequently encounter inaccuracies when identifying patients and matching them to their intended treatment.

In 2005, the EU introduced The Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 which stated that all hospitals must have a blood recording mechanism in place; it did not however specify that this must be an electronic recording system, such as the TERVIA TM. pathfinder ® . Since the introduction of the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 very few hospitals have implemented a technology based recording mechanism, leaving room for human error. Dorset County Hospital is extremely pleased to be able to roll out Avery Dennison's TERVIA TM system across all 8 of its sites. The roll out will begin in the main site, commencing around the middle of March, and is expected to be fully operational by June 2008.

Thousands of blood samples are taken on an annual basis and some are rejected due to human error. Rejected samples are typically labelled incorrectly by staff members and inaccuracies such as these can lead to patients receiving the wrong blood type, which can be potentially fatal. If a sample is rejected due to human error a second sample must be taken causing further discomfort to the patient and extending the process. TERVIA TM guards against such human error by using a unique bar coding system.

The system allocates each patient an individual barcode, which is printed onto their admission wristband. The patients' barcode can then be scanned using the TERVIA TM pathfinder ® hand-held terminal each time blood is taken or received. The terminal then prints a label containing the patients' detail, which can be positioned on the blood sample. Once blood is allocated to the patient it is then possible to track the blood unit and match to the patient at any stage of the transfusion process; thus ensuring that the right patient receives the right blood.

The TERVIA TM pathfinder ® hand held scan and print terminal works within a wireless environment, however Avery Dennison are currently working closely with Dorset County Hospital to provide a solution for its remote sites. The TERVIA TM system comes with a full support package, and training is taking place to ensure a smooth change over.

Avery Dennison's National Account Manager, Brian Roberts comments:

"Avery Dennison is delighted to be working with Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to improve the efficiency of patient identification and blood tracking. The TERVIA TM system allows a patient and their blood to be identified at the bedside using a barcoding system and the hand held terminals print function allows the user to label any samples, guarding against human error.

Dorset County Hospital is the first to go live in the South West but Avery Dennison is hoping that many other NHS Trusts will follow in their footsteps."

Dorset County Hospital's Hospital Transfusion Practitioner, Tracey Stevenson said:

"We are really happy with the progress of the project so far. We have had an awareness day, and the feedback from everyone who attended that day was positive. We are looking forward to introducing the system throughout the Trust and working in partnership with Avery Dennison and our Community Hospital colleagues."

About Avery Dennison Corporation

Avery Dennison is a global leader in pressure-sensitive labeling materials, retail tag, ticketing and branding systems and office products. Based in Pasadena, Calif., Avery Dennison is a FORTUNE 500 Company with 2007 sales of $6.3 billion. Avery Dennison employs more than 30,000 individuals in 60 countries who develop, manufacture and market a wide range of products for both consumer and industrial markets. Products offered by Avery Dennison include: Fasson brand self-adhesive materials; Avery Dennison brand products for the retail and apparel industries; Avery brand office products and graphics imaging media; specialty tapes, peel-and-stick postage stamps, and labels for a wide variety of automotive, industrial and durable goods applications.

-- www.machines.averydennison.com
-- www.tervia.co.uk