Patient inclusion in transfusion medicine: current perspectives

Patient inclusion in transfusion medicine: current perspectives Mark T Friedman,1 Peyman Bizargity,1 Sandra Gilmore,2 Arnold Friedman3 1Blood Bank and Transfusion Medicine Service, Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai St Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center, 2Patient Blood Management Program, Center for Blood Management and Bloodless Medicine and Surgery, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center, 3Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA Abstract: Patients may have differing perceptions about blood transfusions based on their backgrounds, values, education levels, or cultural or religious beliefs, which may or may not be accurate. Unfortunately, despite the fact that transfusions are associated with a number of infectious and noninfectious risks, and in spite of the fact that there are ethical, accreditation, and regulatory requirements to provide information regarding transfusion risks, benefits, and alternatives to patients, transfusion consent remains inconsistently obtained. This can partly be attributed to the fact that clinicians may take on a paternalistic approach to transfusion decisions as well as to the fact that many clinicians have knowledge gaps in transfusion medicine that prevent them from obtaining transfusion consent adequately. As a result, unlike the case with other medical and surgical therapies, most patients are not included in the making of informed decisions regarding the need for transfusion versus alternative therapies, leading to many situations in which the transfusions provide little benefit to them. Recently however, a number of organizations, such as the American Association of Blood Banks and The Joint Commission in the US, have promoted multidisciplinary, evidence-based treatment strategies that aim to minimize the need for blood transfusion, the so-called patient blood management (PBM) protocols. PBM strategies are expected to improve blood utilization through optimization of patients who may need blood transfusions via measures such as preoperative anemia management, intraoperative cell salvage, and improved transfusion guidelines. PBM strategies also focus on enhanced requirements for transfusion education and shared decision making, including informed consent and, thus, promote a patient-centered approach as defined by the Institute of Medicine. Keywords: informed consent, patient blood management, patient-centered approach, patient communication, shareddecision making