Blood Transfusion

US healthcare uses about 14 million units of blood annually, which the Department of Health and Human Services believes is excessive and often inappropriate.  On average, American hospitals apply 49 blood units per 1,000 patients, while Canadian and British providers use less than 40 units.  HHS believes that personal blood management programs-e.g. encouraging iron rich diets for anemic patients before undergoing surgery-could offer both cost savings and more effective care.  Though this piece doesn’t mention telemedicine/telehealth applications in that regard, it clearly is a positive possibility.           MORE