title: The red blood cell utilization review experience.
abstract: The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations catalyzed peer-review of blood transfusion and gave it new form in 1984. This process became mostly comprehensive, retrospective, bi-level, and chart-based with an initial screening phase followed by physician- review. Studies were identified and evaluated to test the efficacy of this process, which has recently come under question. In two-thirds of the studies, transfusions were judged appropriate in over 90% of cases. In most hospitals reporting, there were no inappropriate transfusions. It is concluded that the process often results in too few inappropriate cases to readily identify opportunities for improvement.
authors: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA.
authors: S W
authors: SW
authors: Renner
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003363:Cost Control; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D018024:Peer Review, Health Care; D016896:Treatment Outcome