Virginia Blood Services Chooses Talisman's Quality Donor System


VIENNA, Va., April 24 - On April 2, blood donation just got easier and more accurate at Virginia Blood Services (VBS) in Richmond, Virginia, with implementation of the Quality Donor System(TM) (QDS) and the Talisman Phlebotomy System(TM) (TPS) by Talisman Ltd., located in Vienna, Virginia. Talisman President Paul D. Cumming, PhD praised VBS and said, "we are always pleased by winning new customers, but gaining one in our own state with VBS' quality reputation is especially pleasing."

QDS uses an audio-visual touch screen as the tool to conduct donor self-interviews, and provides pictures and maps to guide the donor through the process. Because potential blood donors interact directly with the computer in total privacy, they feel more comfortable and answer personal questions more candidly. The system allows donors to complete the interview at their own pace, and also gives them a mechanism to ask questions.

Donor satisfaction is improved with QDS, a boon for blood centers because satisfied donors are more likely to donate again. Stated Robert E. Carden, PhD, VBS president and CEO, "We are excited to offer blood donors new technology to improve their donation experience. We expect this process for completing medical histories to be efficient, simple to use, and to increase accuracy and privacy."

Only minimal training is required to use QDS-staff training takes only two or three hours, and donors need no training at all. The accuracy of the donor interview is improved because QDS automates many processes, such as eliminating missed questions or those that need follow up, checking vital signs information, providing instant reference material, and ensuring that all required signatures are in place.

With QDS, blood centers reap the benefits of increased accuracy in reporting and improved efficiency. Blood centers are required to use an FDA-regulated error reporting system, and previous versions of QDS reduced FDA-reportable errors by 60%. The current version of QDS is expected to reduce these errors by over 90%.

TPS captures vital blood draw information and is operated by phlebotomists using wireless hand-held computers. This bar code reading device eliminates transcription error and missing documentation.

Since Talisman's QDS was first introduced, over 1 million donor self-interviews have been successfully completed at blood donation centers across the U.S.-with zero bugs. The Talisman systems are currently in use at six blood centers.

Talisman is a pioneer in the development of automated donor health history screening for blood centers. In 2006, Talisman was one of only 55 companies (out of 6,000 eligible) that won the prestigious Tibbetts award, given annually to small firms that exemplify the best in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). Much of Talisman's recent product development and scientific research is funded by a National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI) SBIR grant titled "Paperless Quality Donor System(TM) with Decision Making" (HL072635). Talisman is unique in that it is one of the few biomedical software developers to conduct scientifically valid studies of its products. Additional information is available at www.talismanlimited.com/ .

Virginia Blood Services (VBS), founded in 1974 and headquartered in Richmond VA, is a private, nonprofit organization that employs more than 200 staff, conducts over 2,000 blood drives each year and collects more than 100,000 donations. VBS supplies blood and blood components to 22 hospitals, including the two largest hospitals in Virginia (VCU Medical Center and University of Virginia Health System) as well as numerous dialysis centers, and home health care agencies in the larger central Virginia area. VBS provides blood for nearly two thirds of the patients receiving organ transplants in Virginia. VBS, in partnership with the National Marrow Donor Program, has facilitated marrow or stem cell donations for more than 100 patients. VBS is a member of Americas Blood Centers and the AABB.

Source: Talisman LTD

CONTACT:

Paul D. Cumming, PhD, of Talisman LTD,

+1-703-938-0300,

paul.cumming@talmed.com

Web site: http://www.talmed.com/

http://www.talismanlimited.com/

All Topics