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Why Collaborative Hospital Site Visits Matter: Strengthening Transfusion Practices Across Ontario

Troy Thompson MLT, BAHSc (Hons), Regional Manager ORBCoN (Central)

Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network (ORBCoN) and Canadian Blood Services (CBS) started collaborative hospital site visits in 2007. These site visits are a cornerstone of ORBCoN’s mission to build a safer, more efficient, and evidence-based transfusion system across Ontario. These visits are not audits or inspections; they are collaborative, educational engagements designed to support hospitals, enhance transfusion practices, and ensure patients receive appropriate and safe transfusion care.

A Collaborative Approach to Better Transfusion Practice

ORBCoN was established to support an organized, integrated approach to blood management across the province. One of the most impactful ways the network supports hospitals is through its annual collaborative hospital site visits, which help strengthen local transfusion programs and promote alignment with provincial best practice. These visits bring together ORBCoN and CBS representatives, hospital transfusion teams, and clinical leaders to review processes, identify opportunities for improvement, and share practical tools and strategies that improve blood utilization and patient safety.

ORBCoN Contributions: Value we provide

Strengthen Transfusion Safety: Provide information to help hospitals adopt evidence-based transfusion practices, through extensive educational resources and guidance.

Examples include:

Support Accreditation Readiness: Provide information regarding non-conformances and tools to help hospitals meet and align with laboratory accreditation requirements and current standards.

Examples include:

Promote Appropriate Blood Utilization: Reinforce stewardship principles that help to contribute to appropriate utilization of blood and blood products including utilization guidelines and best practice recommendations.

Examples include:

Enhance Inventory Management: Provide guidance on tools and strategies that optimize blood inventory and reduce waste. Dramatic reductions in RBC outdating across Ontario have been achieved and sustained from 2.4% (10,000 units) in 2006 to below 0.5% (less than 2,500 units) annually since 2007.

Examples include:

Shared Contributions: What we do together

Build a Connected Transfusion Community: Foster relationships between hospitals, ORBCoN and CBS enabling shared learning, promoting standardized practices, and province-wide collaboration.

Communication: Hospitals are updated on upcoming educational events to support blood and blood product utilization/management, transfusion safety, and quality improvement initiatives.      

Reciprocal Knowledge Sharing: Site visits offer an opportunity to gain knowledge on current or future processes or issues that would be a focal point for both mandates.

The collaborative hospital visits also:

  • Clarify the roles and responsibilities within the provincial blood system.
  • Help to improve communication across laboratory and clinical teams and ensure a direct line to the Ministry of Health for raising and resolving concerns.
  • Provide post-meeting updates to hospital senior administration (CEO, Chief of Staff, etc.) highlighting achievements and identifying opportunities for improvement in transfusion medicine.
  • Offers supportive guidance not an evaluation or inspection; from a provincial partner committed to the hospital’s success.

Looking Ahead

As ORBCoN continues to expand its educational programs, develop new tools, and support hospitals through evolving standards and requirements, collaborative site visits will remain a vital mechanism for strengthening transfusion practices across Ontario.

Collaborative site visits, at their core, are about partnership/networking: working together to ensure that every patient receives safe, appropriate, and high-quality transfusion care.

We would like to thank all Ontario hospitals for their commitment to improving transfusion practice in Ontario, and we appreciate having the opportunity to meet with each hospital, every year!