Developing a Blood Supply Management Framework for Provincial Hospitals: A Health Systems Perspective from the Philippines

Blood supply management is still a vital factor in the delivery of healthcare services, especially in the Provincial Hospitals, which depend on external blood suppliers for blood transfusion. The objective of this study was to create a Blood Supply Management Framework for hospitals in the province from a health system perspective. The study specifically analyzed the current blood supply system and capacity of the provincial hospitals, blood utilization patterns, blood component and blood type demand, identified barriers and challenges to blood availability, distribution, and utilization, and evaluated coordination mechanisms among hospitals, blood centers, and public health agencies and identified the key health system factors that influence blood supply management. The research design used was a descriptive cross-sectional study with nine hospitals that provide blood transfusion services in each province. The survey questionnaire was used to collect the data and the data analyzed by frequency counts, percentage, weighted mean and rank analysis. The findings indicated that all hospitals were blood stations and at the main source of blood access was the Local Blood Service Facility networking. The most commonly used blood products were Red Blood Cells, and Type O positive blood. Limited availability of blood during lean season was the biggest challenge, followed by transportation-related challenges, delays in communication and inefficiency in blood utilization. The findings led to a Blood Supply Management Framework that focuses on coordinated governance, inter-facility networking, efficient use of resources and the ongoing involvement of the community. The framework can be used as a tool to enhance blood supply systems and provide timely and safe transfusion service delivery in the provincial health system.