Evaluation of the in-hospital hemovigilance by introduction of the information technology-based system

BACKGROUND Hemovigilance is an important aspect of transfusion medicine. However, the frequency of the adverse reactions often varies using different reporters. Recently, we have employed a new information technology (IT)‐based in‐hospital hemovigilance system. Here, we evaluated changes in practice after implementation of an IT‐based reporting system. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS We compared the rate of frequency and details of blood transfusion–related adverse reactions 3 years before and after introduction of the IT‐based reporting system. Contents and severity of the adverse reactions were reported in a paper‐based reporting system, but input by selecting items in an IT‐based reporting system. The details of adverse reactions are immediately sent to the blood transfusion unit online. RESULTS After we introduced the IT‐based reporting system, the reported rate of transfusion‐related adverse reactions increased approximately 10‐fold from 0.20% to 2.18% (p