Maximum surgical blood order schedule reduces hospital costs.

The maximum surgical blood order schedule (MSBOS) is a viable option for reducing unnecessary crossmatching and achieving significant cost savings in the blood bank. A MSBOS specifies, and thus limits, the amount of blood normally crossmatched for elective surgical procedures. During the first 10 months after introducing MSBOS at our hospital, there was a 33 per cent drop in the number of units of blood crossmatched for elective surgical procedures. The 712 crossmatches that were avoided saved the hospital blood bank more than $6000. Patient care was not adversely affected. Institution of MSBOS can be accomplished without difficulty by gaining input from surgeons and anesthesiologists. After implementation, follow-up is advisable to attain optimal blood use.