Every Drop Counts: Patient Blood Management

Abstract

Patient blood management (PBM) programs exist in many hospitals, from small community hospitals to large urban Level I trauma centers. PBM improves patient outcomes by protecting the patient‘s own blood rather than promptly resorting to transfusion. The American Board of Internal Medicine’s Choosing Wisely campaign identifies blood transfusion as one of the top areas of overuse in health care. PBM works to improve a patient’s overall blood health while providing ongoing education to both patients and clinicians in this growing field. Nurses play a key role in this area, benefiting patients, hospitals, and health insurers by encouraging conservative use of an expensive and limited medical resource.