A benchmarking program to reduce red blood cell outdating: implementation, evaluation, and a conceptual framework

BACKGROUND: Benchmarking is a quality improvement tool that compares an organization's performance to that of its peers for selected indicators, to improve practice. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Processes to develop evidence-based benchmarks for red blood cell (RBC) outdating in Ontario hospitals, based on RBC hospital disposition data from Canadian Blood Services, have been previously reported. These benchmarks were implemented in 160 hospitals …