Editor's Note
An electronic blood tracking system that monitors how physicians prescribe postoperative blood transfusions significantly reduced the amount of blood patients receive and cut infection rates in half, according to a study presented October 7 at the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons in Chicago.
The tracking system along with a program to educate staff at Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, has cut costs by $2.5 million over 2 years.
A system to monitor how physicians give blood to patients after an operation enabled a hospital system to significantly reduce the blood transfusions.