A combination lock to prevent blood transfusion errors

Preventing blood transfusion errors can save lives. But in a busy hospital or blood bank, pre-transfusion patient ID verification occasionally gets skipped, forgotten, or miscommunicated. While such instances are rare, they can have serious and potentially costly consequences for the practitioners and facilities involved.

The system utilizes a combination lock on the blood bag that will only open using a code printed on the patient’s armband. If a clinician accidentally attempts to open the bag using another patient’s code, it will stay closed and the transfusion will not happen.

Information about FinalCheck:-
FinalCheck uses an innovative tracking system to ensure accurate delivery of blood products. Here’s how it works:

1. One part of an adhesive label is applied to the patient’s admissions band. This label includes a four-digit code.
2. Another part of the adhesive label is applied to the specimen.
3. In the blood bank, a practitioner scans the code on the specimen label into the laboratory information system (LIS). This produces the same four-digit code as the one on the patient’s band.
4. The practitioner sets a single-use combination lock to the four-digit code and uses it to secure the blood component in a bag.
5. Upon receipt of the blood component, only the four-digit code on the patient’s wristband will open the bag with the blood unit.
6. FinalCheck’s unique combination-lock system means that errors in patient matchups are virtually eliminated. Its use of barcodes and adhesive labels let the process happen quickly and with almost no opportunity for human error.

Key Benefits of FinalCheck
Using FinalCheck means that every blood recipient enjoys the treatment standards only otherwise possible in a zero-distraction environment. Unlike manual patient identity verification processes, FinalCheck:

1. Is quick, easy to implement, and accurate
2. Offers a backup system for the few occasions when a nurse or phlebotomist is interrupted during patient verification or hurried away by an urgent matter
3. Can be scaled up or down to suit facilities of any size
4. When a facility decides to try FinalCheck, a representative comes to the facility to offer hands-on staff training and support.

Instructions
To use FinalCheck…

1. Apply the four digit code label to the patient’s identification band.
2. Place the barcoded sticker to the specimen tube.
3. In the blood bank, scan the FinalCheck label into the Laboratory Information System (LIS).
4. Set the FinalCheck lock using the code provided by the LIS.
5. Place the blood component in a FinalCheck bag and secure the bag with the combination lock.
6. When ready to transfuse, identify the FinalCheck code on the adhesive label on the patient’s band.
7. Use the code to unlock the FinalCheck bag.