Haemovigilance
Haemovigilance is the systematic monitoring, reporting and analysis of transfusion-related adverse events and incidents. It is a key patient safety requirement and supports continuous improvement in blood management.
All Queensland clinicians involved in transfusion are expected to recognise, manage and report haemovigilance events in line with local, state and national requirements.
Why haemovigilance matters
- Improves patient safety and clinical outcomes
- Identifies risks, trends and system issues
- Supports quality improvement and governance
- Contributes to national surveillance and benchmarking
Queensland's approach to haemovigilance
Under National Safety and Quality Health Service - Blood Management Standard, health service organisations, including both public hospital and health services and licensed private facilities, are required to ensure that blood and blood product adverse events are included in the incidents management and investigation systems.
This includes:
- having blood and blood product incidents reported to and reviewed by the highest level of governance in the health service organisation, and
- participating in haemovigilance activities conducted by the organisation or at state or national levels.
What must be reported
Clinicians should report any suspected or confirmed transfusion-related adverse events or incidents, including:
- adverse transfusion reactions
- clinical incidents and errors
- other reportable events.
The Australian Haemovigilance Minimum Data Set (AHMDS) defines the minimum list of nationally reportable adverse events and incidents and standard definitions.
Haemovigilance - roles and responsibilities
Local responsibilities (Health Service Organisations and clinicians)
Report events
- Report blood product incidents, near misses and adverse reactions in accordance with your organisation’s incident management processes (e.g. RiskMan within Queensland Health, or equivalent local reporting systems for external providers)
Support local review and governance
- Ensure incidents are reviewed and validated through local clinical governance processes
- Maintain local records and support quality improvement activities
Provide data when requested
- Provide haemovigilance data to the Department of Health to support state and national reporting
Staff should refer to local clinical governance procedures and incident reporting system guidance for detailed requirements.
The Department of Health's role
The Department of Health provides system-level coordination and support but does not replace local processes. Support provided by the Department includes:
- supporting consistent data collection
- maintaining statewide haemovigilance guidance (PDF 363 kB)
- coordinating reporting across HHSs and licensed private health facilities
- submitting de-identified data to the National Blood Authority for national haemovigilance reporting.
National haemovigilance reporting and information
- National Blood Authority Australia Haemovigilance Reporting
- National Blood Authority Australia Haemovigilance Minimum Data Set (AHMDS)