title: A haemovigilance team provides both significant financial and quality benefits in a University Hospital.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Haemovigilance is the process of surveillance of blood transfusion procedures including unexpected hazards and reactions during the transfusion pathway in both donors and recipients. The haemovigilance team aims to increase blood transfusion safety and to decrease both morbidity and mortality in donors and recipients. The team collects data about transfusion reactions and incidents, instructs the involved health workers and assures the tracing of blood components. The haemovigilance team at the University Hospitals Leuven has played a pioneering role in the development of haemovigilance in Belgium Although the literature about safety and quality improvements by haemovigilance systems is abundant, there are no published data available measuring their financial impact in a hospital. Therefore, we studied the costs and returns of the haemovigilance team at the University Hospitals Leuven.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study has a descriptive explorative design. Research of the current costs and returns of the haemovigilance team were based upon data from the Medical Administration of the hospital. Data were analyzed descriptively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The haemovigilance team of the University Hospitals Leuven is financially viable: the direct costs are covered by the annual financial support of the National Public Health Service. The indirect returns come from two important tasks of the haemovigilance team itself: correction of the electronic registration of administered blood component and improvement of the return of conform preserved blood components to the blood bank.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Besides safety and quality improvement, which are obviously their main goals, the haemovigilance team also implies a financial benefit for the hospital.
authors.affiliation: Haemovigilance, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ine
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Decadt
authors.affiliation: Haemovigilance, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Els
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Costermans
authors.affiliation: Financial Department, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Maai
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van de Poel
authors.affiliation: Financial Department, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Katrien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kesteloot
authors.affiliation: Haemovigilance, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Haematology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: Timothy.Devos@uzleuven.be.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Devos
mesh_terms: D016913:Blood Component Transfusion / Q000191:economics*; D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000191:economics*; D058731:Blood Safety / Q000191:economics*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011786:Quality Control
keywords: Blood components; Cost; Haemovigilance; Haemovigilance team