(P-BC-29) Effective Transferring of Blood Products for Proper Inventory Management

Based on a lack of literature available, forecasting blood inventory levels in hospitals and at blood centers is not widely done. The movement of blood products is done based on Target Inventory Levels (TIL) and gut feeling in these cases. For one blood center, unscheduled movements (transfer) of blood products from one intra-state distribution center to another suggested the current method of determining inventory needs were not effective. This study assessed if an Excel spreadsheet-based blood product request sheet (Transfer Sheet) linked to an Excel spreadsheet-based blood product forecasting tool would reduce the number of unscheduled transfers.

Study

Design/Methods:

Unscheduled blood product transfers from June 2022 to April 2024 were collected from Elite Extra (Driver management software), including fifteen months pre and eight months post the implementation of the Transfer Sheet and blood product forecasting.

A forecasting tool was made with two years of average RBCs and platelets distributed based on the four intra-state distribution centers. TIL were established per distribution center. A Transfer Sheet was made for each location to enter desired numbers of units requested by each intra-state distribution location. The Transfer Sheet was linked to the blood product forecast tool to see a positive or negative change in the tool.

Results/Findings:

Prior to implementation of linked Transfer Sheet/blood product forecasting tool, there was an average of 4.46 unscheduled blood product transfers per month. Post implementation there was a 50.4% decrease in monthly average unscheduled transfers, to 2.25.

Conclusions:

Implementation of an Excel spreadsheet-based blood product request sheet (Transfer Sheet) linked to an Excel spreadsheet-based blood product forecasting tool reduced the number of unscheduled blood product transfers between intra-state blood distribution centers.