title: Decreasing preoperative autologous blood donation: collaboration between a hospital and a blood center to prompt change in physician ordering behavior.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the collaborative efforts of a large healthcare institution and its local blood center in reducing preoperative autologous blood donation (PABD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Through an educational letter-based campaign, we contacted physicians who historically had ordered PABD units. Follow-up educational efforts occurred at departmental and individual meetings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our educational campaign to reduce PABD achieved complete elimination of PABD orders and the resultant waste of PABD units within 3 years of the start of the program. These changes were sustained for at least 2 subsequent years without the need for additional educational efforts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Targeted educational efforts directed at practitioners of PABD were successful in significantly decreasing the use and waste of PABD at the health care institution we studied and may yield the same results in comparable institutions.
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona, lsu@phoenixchildrens.com.
authors.forename: Leon L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adamski
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona.
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Gilman
authors.affiliation: Blood Systems, Inc., Scottsdale, Arizona.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cusick
authors.affiliation: Division of Laboratory Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, Arizona.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Hernandez
mesh_terms: D001782:Blood Donors; D001804:Blood Transfusion, Autologous / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D004501:Education, Medical; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011300:Preoperative Care
keywords: blood center; blood utilization; clinical pathology; physician education; preoperative autologous blood donation; transfusion medicine