FMECA Modelling and Analysis in Blood Transfusion Chain

This paper describes the modelling and analysis of the processes and activities used in the Blood Transfusion Centre of Hospital Brotzu (Cagliari – Italy), via FMECA (Failure Modes Effects and Criticalities Analysis) method, in order to enhance patient safety and improve clinical risk management. The first part of the study consists on an analysis of the present blood transfusion chain processes (AS-IS), obtained by reverse engineering. Then a concise description of the FMECA methodology is presented. After the introduction of the reengineered process (TO-BE), developed via introduction of RFID technology, the results of simulation will be presented. For each activity of the two configurations studied (AS-IS and TO-BE) some performance indicators were evaluated, then a sensitivity analysis has been carried out to investigate the consistency of FMECA analysis. Finally follows the comparison of results between the simulation of actual process and the reengineered one.