Computerized blood bank control.

An advanced inventory control system which uses a remotely located computer is now in its eighth month of operation. The Blood Bank Control System resulted from a joint effort by a blood bank and an aerospace company to resolve blood bank operational problems through proved information-processing techniques. The system links the blood bank to the computer for automated record keeping, inventory analysis, performance audit, and management report preparation. By means of exception reporting, the system enables the bank to do the following: monitor release of cross-matched blood within preset periods; encourage more effective use of inventory by member hospitals; plan more closely the procurement, stock level, and distribution of whole-blood inventory; reduce losses from outdating and lower the age of transfused blood.