Australia has been at the leading edge of safe and appropriate transfusion practices for nearly two decades. Government led, evidence-based initiatives such as the National Blood Authority’s Patient Blood Management Modules and the National Safety and Quality Health Service: Blood Management Standard have provided guidance for best practice within Australian healthcare facilities. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service’s Transfusion Policy and Education (TPE) unit has been integral to the success of these initiatives through the development and delivery of both traditional and innovative transfusion education and support tools to improve transfusion practices.
TPE creates resources for medical doctors, nurses, midwives, transfusion scientists and technicians based on their motivation to engage with transfusion education. The segmentation is classified into 1) Building Career which aims to deliver the foundations of safe transfusion practice 2) Advancing Career which aims to contribute to formal qualifications required for career progression and 3) Extending Career which aims to provide practice changing education and support tools to those seen as leaders in the field of transfusion.
TPE has numerous educational offerings including digital assets such as www.transfusion.com.au which has been recognised as the leading international transfusion website for 15 years with over 300,000 visits and approximately 700,000 page views in 2018; and the first of its kind “iTransfuse App” which was launched last year to provide junior medical officers with a bedside support tool for transfusion decision making. TPE currently provides evidence-based “Transfusion Orientation pack for Junior Medical Officers” to all interns across Australia and have developed the “Toolkit for Maternity Blood Management” to provide strategies and tools to improve the care of pregnant woman with iron deficiency and/or anaemia. TPE also provides clinical practice improvement audit tools that allow clinicians to benchmark against national quality and safety key performance indicators.