IT in Blood banks, at present and tomorrow: a Nordic perspective

Abstract

BackgroundBlood banks in most of the Nordic countries all share a vein‐to‐vein approach, which is usually handled in a single blood banking information system (BBIS). This means that a blood bank IT system in the Nordics is traditionally operated by a single vendor.AimsThe aim for integrations, rather than building an integrated IT system, to support the need for a vein‐to‐vein process is a precondition in the Nordic countries. With multiple IT systems supporting isolated processes, we intend to facilitate development in these and furthermore increase the flexibility in the whole process.MethodsWe set out to reveal any existing knowledge in the literature on IT vendor strategies for blood banks, but we did not succeed in identifying any relevant literature. However, a systematic literature study on vendor strategies when choosing Health IT identified 837 studies, but only 10 was eligible for full‐text review and five met the inclusion criteria.ResultsEven this broader literature study reveals very little evidence, and furthermore the only available studies are from an American context quite far from the European and Nordic framework in health care. In addition, the existing research is contradictory.ConclusionThis paper adds basic knowledge for breaking down the process control of blood banking in smaller processes. This adds the possibility for identifying best of breed or best of suite vendors, instead of relying on single vendor IT solutions. Furthermore, it is a call for more research in the field of vendor selection strategies, preferably with a longitudinal study design, which this review did not succeed in identifying.