Repeat routine blood tests in a clinically stable inpatient rarely change management. Each draw adds to hospital-acquired anaemia, patient discomfort and cost, and abnormal results that do not matter trigger further tests.
Order each test with a question it answers. Repeat it when the patient's condition, a drug that needs monitoring, or a previous abnormal result calls for it, not because a day has passed.
- Ask what decision each repeat test will inform before ordering it
- Avoid standing daily orders for full blood count, urea and electrolytes in stable patients
- Do not repeat coagulation tests in patients not on anticoagulants or with no bleeding concern
- Review the blood test plan at every ward round, not just the medication chart
Why it matters
Unnecessary daily phlebotomy contributes to anaemia in long-stay patients.
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