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How is national recipient hemovigilance conducted in the U nited S tates?
Author(s) -
Chung KooWhang,
Harvey Alexis,
Basavaraju Sridhar V.,
Kuehnert Matthew J.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
transfusion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.045
H-Index - 132
eISSN - 1537-2995
pISSN - 0041-1132
DOI - 10.1111/trf.12980
Subject(s) - medicine , psychological intervention , medical emergency , patient safety , adverse effect , health care , emergency medicine , nursing , pharmacology , economics , economic growth
A national recipient hemovigilance system was introduced in the U nited S tates in 2010, when voluntary enrollment began as part of the N ational H ealthcare S afety N etwork ( NHSN ) H emovigilance M odule. NHSN is a secure, W eb‐based surveillance system operated by the C enters for D isease C ontrol and P revention and used by US health care facilities to report a variety of patient safety information. The H emovigilance M odule is used for comprehensive monitoring of transfusion‐related adverse events. Participating facilities can utilize analytic tools available within the module to identify opportunities for enhancing transfusion safety, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions, and compare facility specific transfusion‐related data to aggregate national estimates. Data may be voluntarily shared by facilities with external partners for patient safety improvement initiatives and to fulfill reporting mandates. We describe the key characteristics of the H emovigilance M odule, highlight the benefits for participating facilities, and discuss the use of reported data for establishing national estimates of transfusion‐associated adverse events to identify gaps in transfusion safety and opportunities for interventions. National hemovigilance systems are essential to recognize gaps in transfusion safety and identify opportunities for interventions to improve patient safety and outcomes.