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Pink Top Tube Conversion for Blood Bank Tests Angela Treml MD 1 , Steve Zibrat MS MT(ASCP) 1 , Lori Berg MBA MT (ASCP) 1 , Teresita Schultz MS MT (ASCP) SBB 1 , Elizabeth Early, Osvaldo Torres 2 1 Department of Pathology, 2 Supply Chain and Logistics • Decrease need for additional sample • Decrease additional venipunctures • Improve patient satisfaction • Introduce a visual indicator to guide sample transport • Reduce misdirection of samples to the lab and blood bank • Reduce misdirection of tubes within labs • Reduce turn around time for testing Go live date for roll out of pink top tubes on March 3 rd • Supply Chain stocked all supply rooms with the new products • Visual reminders were placed in supply rooms for nursing staff • Communication sent out to all users in advance • Lattice labels changed to indicate pink tube for these tests • Partnering with stakeholders on decision making and implementation are the keys to success • Supply Chain support is critical in this type of transition • Supply distribution within the UCM is complicate Next Steps Aims Patients who may need blood products are required to have their blood typed and screened for the presence of antibodies. Samples collected for this testing have traditionally been collected in 4mL lavender top Vacutainer tubes. These samples are typically collected with other laboratory blood samples and are tubed to the laboratory service center (LSC) where they are triaged to the correct testing locations. In February 2013, the Blood Bank moved to a new location in the CCD which required the LSC to re-tube these blood samples from Mitchell to CCD resulting in delays and non viable samples. The Blood Bank which performs this testing noted when patients require additional antibody evaluation, there is an increased frequency of patient samples with insufficient volume of sample to complete testing. Overall the transition was extremely successful and Blood Bank will continue to monitor sample compliance and provide ongoing feedback and training This project identified that many samples are not being collected properly requiring ongoing tracking, training and feedback The Intervention The solution included finding a Vacutainer: • Larger than 4 mL • Visually distinguishable for use as a Blood Bank “only” tube Pink Top Tube fulfilled the above criteria Members from blood bank, supply chain, lab preanalytical services, lab quality, CBIS/LIS and nursing met to plan the transition from lavender to pink top Vacutainers throughout UCM 0 5 10 15 20 AddiAonal sample requests Dec13 Jan14 Feb14 Mar14 Apr14 Examples of samples with low volume *April reflects: 4/14/14 Problem Statement 1. Blood Bank testing frequently requires more than the 4mL sample volume 2. Lavender top tubes are used for multiple tests in more than one laboratory location 3. Testing specimens were frequently rejected due to delays in reaching the appropriate lab All of these factors resulted in an average of 15-20 patient redraws monthly causing testing delays and decreased patient satisfaction. Results Background Lessons Learned
