Blood products are among the most expensive resources health systems manage. Blood components and derivatives can be extremely expensive to source and administer, particularly products like platelets that require significant resources to collect and manage.
But many organizations are also recognizing that the impact of transfusions extends beyond the product cost alone.
Every transfusion introduces potential patient risk. Even with major advances in testing and safety protocols, blood products can still contribute to complications, allergic reactions, longer hospital stays, and other negative consequences for patients.
At the same time, many surgical patients still arrive for procedures with untreated anemia—creating situations where transfusions become more likely and opportunities for earlier intervention may already have been missed.
As health systems balance financial pressure alongside growing expectations around quality and outcomes, patient blood and anemia management is becoming a much larger conversation across the industry.
Why anemia management is gaining attention before surgery
Many patients arrive for procedures already anemic. In some cases, that anemia could have been treated earlier and may have reduced the likelihood of needing a transfusion during or after surgery.
For example, treatment of a patient with iron-deficiency anemia before surgery may help avoid the need for blood products later.
Rather than waiting until a patient is already hospitalized or in surgery, more health systems are looking for ways to identify anemia sooner and intervene before transfusions are needed.
That is changing how many organizations think about blood utilization and management. The goal is not simply reducing blood use. It is reducing avoidable risk for the patient while improving how care is managed before surgery.
Data is changing long-standing transfusion practices
Over time, clinical studies and utilization data have also changed how organizations think about transfusion practices.
Years ago, transfusions often occurred almost automatically once hemoglobin levels dropped below a certain threshold. Today, there is much more data showing that many patients can safely tolerate lower hemoglobin levels or may benefit from alternative treatments before a transfusion becomes necessary.
To help identify opportunities for reducing unnecessary transfusions, many health systems are employing
- Utilization analytics
- EMR-based clinical guidance
- Standardized protocols
- Retrospective utilization review
- Physician education and multidisciplinary review
Sustainable change takes more than one department
One of the clearest lessons organizations are learning is that patient blood management cannot be driven by the laboratory alone.
Successful programs typically involve surgery, pharmacy, nursing, pathology, and physician leadership working together to establish protocols, review utilization patterns, and support education across the organization.
Those multidisciplinary groups are important because changing transfusion practices ultimately requires physician engagement and leadership support. Organizations need influential medical leaders at the table to help sponsor the program and drive adoption across the system.
These groups also provide dedicated support to driving change. Programs can become difficult to maintain when patient blood management turns into a “side hustle” rather than a focused operational priority. This challenge becomes even harder when organizations lack dedicated internal expertise or the resources needed to support the work long-term.
The organizations making the most progress are typically the ones with dedicated leadership, strong physician engagement, and access to the clinical and operational expertise needed to keep the program moving forward.
For organizations that can identify anemia earlier, standardize transfusion practices, and use data more effectively, the benefits can extend across both patient care and financial performance.
Four takeaways for improving blood utilization
- The impact of transfusion practices goes far beyond the blood product itself. Transfusions can affect patient safety, length of stay, resource utilization, and overall cost across the organization.
- Earlier anemia identification can help reduce avoidable transfusions. More organizations are focusing on identifying and treating anemia before patients reach surgery.
- Better data helps organizations make more informed transfusion decisions. Utilization analytics, clinical guidance, and retrospective review are helping support more consistent practices.
- Patient blood management cannot be driven by one department alone. The organizations making the most progress are bringing laboratory, surgery, pharmacy, nursing, pathology, and physician leadership together to support the program.
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