Alloantibody Exchange

Patient data privacy is primary concern for us as well. We will work with your health system IT to perform a security review. This does not involve blood bank staff. It is also helpful to remember the scope of this project only includes information relative to providing appropriately matched blood products. Patients with special transfusion requirements generally make up 1% of a health system’s patient population, and the information collected from this 1% includes only alloantibody, antigen, and special transfusion requirements. We do not collection information on a patient simply because they had a type and screen. We do not collect diagnoses, medications, or billing information. Our focus is very narrow.

We have read and annotated the HIPAA regulations line-by-line to ensure we comply fully. Read our documentation here (PDF, opens in new tab). Sharing patient information is allowed under HIPAA. It does not require informed consent for the treatment of patients. See HIPAA 165.506(c)(2) on page 84, “A covered entity may disclose PHI for treatment activities of a healthcare provider”. We will work with your health system IT to review HIPAA requirements. This does not involve blood bank staff.

We employ automated procedures developed by a review of health information exchanges to identify patients across systems. We use six patient identifiers: first name, last name, date of birth, birth sex, ABO, and Rh. Although imperfect without a unique national medical identifier, health information exchanges do function successfully in many states. For each patient’s transfusion requirements, we do provide the origin of the information, allowing further dialogue as needed.

Additional details are available on your Project Plan at the top of the page. (Use 'Get Started' to receive a code if you do not have one.) In Project Plan, see the Documents tab. For additional help, click the "Schedule a Meeting" button, also at the top of the page.