A useful ward habit is to state, for each repeat blood test, the decision it will inform. If no result would change what you do tomorrow, it can usually wait. Repeated phlebotomy causes hospital-acquired anaemia, particularly in older and long-stay patients, and every extra result creates a chance of a false-positive that leads to more testing. Standing daily orders should be reviewed on the ward round rather than renewed automatically.
- Name the decision each repeat test will inform before ordering it.
- Review standing daily blood orders on every ward round.
- Watch for falling haemoglobin from repeated sampling in long-stay patients.
- Use add-on requests to existing samples where the laboratory allows.
Why it matters
Habit-driven testing harms patients slowly and invisibly.
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