WHO Global Forum for Blood Safety: Patient blood management
Place: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Date: 14–15 March 2011
Meeting outputs
WHO/HQ Blood Transfusion Safety Team (WHO/BTS) plans to convene a two-day Global Forum to highlight the importance of patient blood management (PBM) and patient health and safety in the health-care system and to consider barriers to its implementation and factors causing variability in different countries. The meeting will be organized in collaboration with the Sharjah Blood Transfusion and Research Centre, and cosponsored by the Government of the United Arab Emirates.
Lessons learnt and strategies to address major challenges to managing blood use for quality patient care, faced by both developed and developing countries, will also be discussed. This forum will bring together representatives from developed and developing countries, members of the WHO Expert Advisory Panel on Transfusion Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centres, international organizations and WHO professional staff from headquarters and six WHO regional offices.
Objectives
- Explore and define the concept of patient blood management (PBM) and highlight its importance in health-care systems for patient health and safety;
- Assess and review the current challenges, barriers and lessons learned from countries' experiences in implementing PBM systems;
- Define key strategies and approaches for the effective implementation of PBM systems;
- Identify mechanisms for evaluating the impact of PBM and for continual process and quality improvement;
- Provide an interdisciplinary and international forum among transfusion medicine specialists, clinicians, hospital administrators, scientists, technologists, nurses and midwives to bring synergy to PBM systems;
- Develop structured observations and identify priorities for action at national and international levels, as well as strategies for their implementation.
Expected outcomes
- Explore and define the concept of PBM and highlight its importance in health care system and patient health and safety;
- Assessing and reviewing the current challenges, barriers and lessons learnt from countries' in implementing PBM;
- Facilitate information sharing and communication on the key strategies and approaches to effective implementation of PBM;
- Identification of mechanisms for evaluating blood management impact and for continual process and quality improvement;
- Advocacy for the establishment of an interdisciplinary forum among Transfusion Medicine specialists, clinicians, hospital administrators, scientist, technologists, nurses and midwives to bring synergy for PBM;
- Review and identify of priorities for action at country and international level, as well as the strategies for their implementation.