IT Aids Bone Marrow Transplants

New health IT systems are expected to slash the wait time for life-saving bone marrow transplants by more than half, potentially saving thousands of lives every year.

The National Marrow Donor Program projects that analytics software and business process management tools will cut the average wait from 96 days to 45 days or less, according to a Nov. 18 article in InformationWeek Healthcare online. With the wait time more than halved, twice as many people -- about 10,000 annually -- will receive transplants in time to save their lives, according to the report. At present, six out of 10 donors die before receiving transplants.

The key is IT-enabled automation. Finding a match through the national Be the Match Registry and arranging the transplant is a complicated, time-consuming process involving several different health care organizations and individuals. The registry includes information on more than 8 million donors nationwide. The new software will automatically compare millions of data records throughout the country, according to IBM, the software's vendor.

The system includes a secure Web portal for coordinating the process and managing the steps leading up to transplantation, according to InformationWeek.

"This breakthrough at the NMDP is a prime example of how health analytics can be used to mine data in new ways and streamline processes," Dan Pelino, general manager of IBM healthcare and life sciences, said in a Nov. 19 news release. "New approaches to analyzing patient data are advancing the state of medicine and influencing research."

The software will track down donors after they are matched with recipients, send electronic reminders for medical tests and manage scheduling, said Phil Gilbert, IBM vice president of business process management, according to InformationWeek. IBM says the process also includes a social networking component. Primary rollout is expected next year.

The IT system can enable a global expansion of the registry, Gilbert added, ultimately saving even more lives.