A filing system of cumulative patient record cards is described for use by large or active blood banks. Cards are retrieved for review of patient identification, past transfusion history, and legally necessary documentation of test results. Information on the cards is handwritten (as is required in most blood banks) only once, reducing transcription error. Card acquisition depends on an electromechanical delivery system, which is selectively activated by a programmed key-stroke sequence. Cards are filed and accessed randomly so that records cannot be lost. A backup system for delivery permits certainty of retrieval of records. The system contains 40,000 complete patient records on line, can easily be expanded, may be linked to off-line files or a computer, and is simple to operate.
A critical appraisal of a recent AABB recommendation for hepatitis surveillance was undertaken. As part of the program, a formal, mailed inquiry was sent to physicians whose patients were transfused six months earlier. The replies did not provide an effective means of detecting posttransfusion hepatitis, and cost of the program was high. Although the method served as a useful reminder to physicians that transfusion-associated hepatitis is a reportable disease, caution is warranted in implementing such screening.
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