Veterans affairs

After an extensive investigation of a recent NOIS submission, the Blood Bank Modernization Team (BBM) determined that a workaround for the problem was necessary. Please review the information carefully and follow the directions below to prevent any potential patient-safety related issues caused by the VISTA Blood Bank v5.2 software. Below is an overview of the problem:

In this situation where the lowercase antibody is not entered exactly as it is defined in the Function Field file #61.3, the uppercase version of the entered text is automatically returned. In some cases, the Blood Banker may not observe the discrepancy and could continue without correcting it.

ANTI c

ANTI e

ANTI k

ANTI i

ANTI s
This problem has been identified in several options in the Blood Bank v5.2 software and the development team continues to research other options that could potentially have the same problem. The options identified so far are listed as follows in bold font.

EF Edit blood bank files …

Example 1:

Previous Records option.

Select Blood bank patient Option: PR Previous records

Blood bank patient data from old records

Select Patient Name: SMITH,PATIENT SMITH,PATIENT Y. 10-19-15 11113583

6 YES SC VETERAN

SMITH,PATIENT Y. ID: 111-13-5836 Physician: MURCH,CLAUDETTE Y

ABO group: O Rh type: POS

AGE: 85 DATE OF BIRTH: OCT 19,1915

PATIENT LOCATION: DBB// DALLAS BLOOD BANK

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: Anti s 52310 ANTI S

ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED COMMENT:

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: Anti e

1 ANTI E 52030 ANTI E

2 ANTI E(w) 52110 ANTI E(w)

Example 2:

Enter test data option

Division: Dallas CIOFO

Accession Area: BLOOD BANK
BLOOD BANK Patient data entry for Aug 29, 2001 ? YES// (YES)

Enter TEST COMMENT(s) ? NO// (NO)

Edit SPECIMEN COMMENT(s) ? NO// (NO)
Select Accession Number: 2 for Aug 29, 2001

PAAR,BARNEY Z. ID: 111-11-3028 ABO: O Rh: POS

Specimen: BLOOD

Test:TRANSFUSION REQUEST

RH INTERPRETATION: P POS

ANTIBODY SCREEN INTERPRETATION: POS POS

Select SERUM ANTIBODY: Anti e

1 ANTI E 52030 ANTI E

2 ANTI E(w) 52110 ANTI E(w)

CHOOSE 1-2: ??

Select SERUM ANTIBODY: Anti c

1 ANTI C 52020 ANTI C

2 ANTI Ce 52070 ANTI Ce

3 ANTI Cw 52080 ANTI Cw

4 ANTI Cx 52090 ANTI Cx

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: Anti c

1 ANTI C 52020 ANTI C

2 ANTI Ce 52070 ANTI Ce

3 ANTI Cw 52080 ANTI Cw

4 ANTI Cx 52090 ANTI Cx

CHOOSE 1-4: ??

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: Anti e

1 ANTI E 52030 ANTI E

2 ANTI E(w) 52110 ANTI E(w)

CHOOSE 1-2: ??

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: Anti k

1 ANTI K 51810 ANTI K

2 ANTI Kp(a) 51830 ANTI Kp(a)

3 ANTI Kp(b) 51840 ANTI Kp(b)

CHOOSE 1-3: ??

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: ANti i

1 ANTI I 51750 ANTI I

2 ANTI I(int) 51770 ANTI I(int)

CHOOSE 1-2: ??

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: Anti s 52310 ANTI S

ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED COMMENT:

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: ?

Answer with ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED:

75 ANTI S

You may enter a new ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED, if you wish

Limits entry to only blood group antibodies

Answer with FUNCTION FIELD NAME, or SNOMED CODE, or IDENTIFIER, or

SYNONYM

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: 75 ANTI S

ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED: ANTI S// @

SURE YOU WANT TO DELETE THE ENTIRE ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED? y (Yes)

Select ANTIBODIES IDENTIFIED:
Date/time work completed: NOW// (AUG 29, 2001@08:02)

Example 3:

Edit Corresponding Antigen/Antibody

Select Edit blood bank files Option: AA Edit Corresponding Antigen/Antibody

Select ANTIGEN or ANTIBODY: ANTI e 52050

CORRESPONDING ANTIGEN/ANTIBODY: e//

COMPATIBILITY FACTOR: .1//

COMMENT:

Edit? NO//

Select TITLE OF ARTICLE:

Select ANTIGEN or ANTIBODY: ANti e 52030

CORRESPONDING ANTIGEN/ANTIBODY: E//

COMPATIBILITY FACTOR: .8//

COMMENT:

No existing text

Edit? NO//

Select TITLE OF ARTICLE:

Work Around:

The Blood Banker must ensure that the correct antibody is being selected at all times when prompted by the system for user input. This can be accomplished by entering the SNOMED code numeric identifier instead of the name for all antibodies at any prompt that references the Function Field file #61.3 for user input.

For example, enter 52030 instead of “ANTI e”. By entering the correct SNOMED code, the Blood Banker will avoid the potential occurrence of the system returning an incorrect antibody due to the problem described in this memo.
Another work around to this problem could be to enter the Identifier character for the antibody instead of typing the name.

For example, enter a lowercase e for ANTI e, or an uppercase E for ANTI E.

Although this work around is acceptable, the potential for user error due to the incorrect use of the cap lock key does exist, and the best way to avoid this would be to only use the SNOMED code numeric identifier.
Additional precautions:

• 
  When a NEW entry is entered in a field that references the Function Field file #61.3 and the user is prompted for another selection, enter a “?” to validate that what was previously entered is correct.
  
• 
  When working on a pc workstation, the user should keep the cap lock key ON and use the shift key in conjunction with the character when it is necessary to enter a lower case character.
  

VHA transfusions services are directed to post, provide notice and training to all affected employees, and incorporate the instructions given in this document into their daily business practices. Procedure Manuals must be modified to reflect this change.