Regional program to improve blood transfusion quality in hospitals: experience of Poitou-Charentes area.

In the Poitou-Charentes area, a regional pilot program was implemented over a two year-period to improve transfusion safety in public and private hosp itals. This program consisted in: (i) an evaluation of the transfusion chai n in hospitals; (ii) a regional program to guide hospitals in improving the quality process. Five workgroups were set up. Three persons in each hospit al should participate in the workgroup: one representing the administration , one the medical staff and one the nursing staff. After a six months follo w-up several hospitals were prompted to implement corrective and preventive measures to improve transfusion safely; (iii) a letter was regularly publi shed to contribute to set-up a regional haemovigilance network. Such a qual ity improvement program revealed to be a relevant method to steer the chang ing blood transfusion process in hospitals. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.