Enhancing Compliance to a Bloodless Management Protocol for Severe Anemia through Avomd Technology Integration

Background

Englewood Hospital (EH) has over 25 years of experience in patient blood management (PBM) for patients who decline blood transfusions due to religious or personal reasons. The Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Institute has developed a comprehensive protocol for managing severe anemia in bloodless patients, aiming to optimize patient hematopoietic capacity. [1] This approach has been shown to reduce costs, transfusion reactions, and hospital stays. [2] However, the progressive nature of bloodless medicine has presented challenges in physician compliance with hospital guidelines and policies, leading to frequent referrals to the specialized PBM department for guidance. Tools like AvoMD, a clinical decision support (CDS) platform, have helped reduce referrals by providing structured guidance on evidence-based algorithms.

Methods

EH collaborated with AvoMD to integrate our customized PBM protocol into an interactive interface. This platform enables physicians to select among various clinical conditions, such as patients who are actively bleeding, critically ill or those undergoing a surgical intervention. Management recommendations are then provided based on hemoglobin values according to established protocols. In this study, we closely monitored the number of referrals to the PBM department over a 12-month period after implementation of our PBM protocol via AvoMD.

Results

The implementation of the AvoMD platform led to a 73% decrease in referrals to the PBM department.

Conclusion

Managing severe anemia when transfusion is not an option can be challenging. CDS systems integrate patient information with a digital knowledge base to enhance clinical decision-making processes and can be particularly helpful in unique scenarios such as severe anemia in bloodless patients. These systems have shown to decrease misdiagnosis rates and improve patient safety. [4] AvoMD is designed to streamline clinical decision-making by simplifying evidence-based guidelines and algorithms. The implementation of AvoMD decreased the number of PMB referrals in our hospital by empowering physicians with point-of-care recommendations. This CDS integration has proven to reduce the need for specialist consultations and improve guideline adherence in other institutions. [3, 5]

Integrating EH PBM protocols into the clinical workflow through the AvoMD platform represents a significant advancement in patient care quality. This project highlights the potential of technology to deliver comprehensive care, enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes. The field of CDS is evolving rapidly, and the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) is set to accelerate this transformation. Numerous studies are exploring how AI can improve decision-making processes, increase accuracy, and ultimately lead to better clinical outcomes. [6,7]

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.