Many of you may have seen the recent Esurance commercials with the theme “sorta you, isn’t you.” In one, Giants catcher Buster Posey runs into a maternity room ready to deliver a baby stating that he is “sorta like a doctor because he wears a glove and delivers in the clutch.” Needless to say, the expectant father so infatuated with Buster that he considers allowing him to deliver, but the expectant mother wants her physician, not someone “sorta like” her physician, to actually do the delivery.
Listening to the presentations at the America’s Blood Centers’ Summer Meeting in Philadelphia last week, I noted at least one instance in which the American Red Cross (ARC) had shared data representing the industry. While the data ARC provided is likely reflective of industry trends, it struck me that the ABC members are being classed as “sorta like the ARC.” Much like the expectant mother in the commercial, I wanted us, not someone “sorta like” us, to make that delivery. ABC’s Data Warehouse (DW) offers us that capability, by collecting and disseminating data from ABC member blood centers about blood collection and utilization.
ABC’s DW Requirements Advisory Committee (DWRAC) has been working diligently over the past year on business intelligence questions provided by the membership. It has been a long process to standardize the metric definitions and format the initial reports that the committee ranked as most important. We shared “in process” examples with those in attendance at the Summer Meeting and showed subtle differences between some ABC members using the current data in the ABC DW from 2012.
To bring us into the present, a significant step forward occurred with the creation of new computer script modifications for BBCS and Wyndgate blood establishment computer systems (BECS) data extraction. These have been implemented at several centers and other members are working to implement the new script modifications for their specific BECS system. This will refresh the DW with up-to-date data reflective of what is currently happening within our industry. This is not only important to project where the industry is going, but also to support advocacy efforts by directly representing ABC members.
The strength of the DW is not solely in the data, but also in the capability to examine our differences and work together to improve our operations and be represented nationally. We want to ensure that our voice is heard for our advocacy and industry improvement efforts. I hope all of you, like me, want to have our institutions represented with data that is us, not “sorta like us.”
Gregg Boothe; Chair, ABC DWRAC; boothe.ucmail.uc.edu