Traditionally the poor cousin of pathology, the digital transformation of transfusion laboratories in Australia is now well underway and transforming the provision of these essential clinical services. Explore the transformation of the Australian blood supply chain and understand how the ongoing developments of new and existing national systems such as BloodNet and BloodSTAR provides both opportunities and significant challenges. Explore how real-time monitoring of the supply chain and transfusions could change your provision of pathology services. And explore perhaps the greatest mystery of all – why is it that Australia has a world-leading solution that enables haemophilia patients in the community to record in real-time their bleeds & infusions and notify their clinicians, but we are still unable to comprehensively implement computer assisted transfusions at the bedside in our hospitals ?

1. The digital disruption
of transfusion
laboratories
Peter O’Halloran
Executive Director & Chief Information Officer
Pathology Horizons – 7 November 2015

3. Changes in demand for red cells
-8.0%
-7.0%
-6.0%
-5.0%
-4.0%
-3.0%
-2.0%
-1.0%
0.0%
1.0%
2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15

4. The Transfusion Lab in 2025

5.  Improved decision support in LIS and other systems
 CPOE – Computerised Physician Order Entry
 Electronic cross-match and automated remote release
of blood from RFID enabled fridges
 Much greater use of analysers
Automated

6.  High uptake of nanotechnology to enable non-invasive
real-time blood tests on a continuous basis from
anywhere
 Real-time automated dose changes based on
automated test results for patients receiving clotting
factors
 Continued decline of use of red cells and red cells no
longer user in anaemia treatment
Patients

7.  Virtual – no ‘on-site’ scientists
 Phlebotomists or technical officers load samples into analyzers
 Remote release of blood direct to nursing staff
 Scientists become more involved in patient care –
analysing the greatly increased volume of test data and
proactively providing advice to treating clinicians
 Greater specialisation of scientists who work from ‘call-
centre’ style environments
Staff

8. Supply
Chain
Barcodes
& RFID
BloodNet
Enablers from the NBA

9.  Increasingly reliable – no stock-outs – more like a utility
– it is simply there when you need it
 Automation and real-time updates on inventory,
deliveries and the like
 Streamlined for ordering – single national portal for all
blood and blood product orders
Supply Chain

10.  Move to global barcode symbologies for fresh (ISBT-
128) and manufactured (GS1) blood products is now
under-way in Australia
 Data elements for RFID tags standardised
 RFID trials for remote fridges commence in Victoria on
Monday
Barcodes and RFID

11. BloodNet - Australia’s online blood ordering and
inventory management system in 2014-2015
BloodNet
Orders
Placed
Products
Received
BloodNet
Users
175,822 2,057,746 4,137
Cost of blood products ~$1 billion

13. Complete
accurate
data
Reporting
from
multiple
sources to
those who
can use it
Time-
saving
(0.5 FTE
per lab)
Incident
Management
Access to
real-time
data
Benchmarking
Reduced
inventory
&
wastage

16. Saving & improving
Australian lives
through a world class
blood supply