NCBS s annual survey of hospital customers showed quite favorable results, although some hospital customers voiced concerns about the cost increase related to NCBS's conversion to leukocyte-reduced inventory of red blood cells. NCBS is meeting the community s need for blood products and services, and is providing a significant share of the national system s supply of blood. New training programs appear to have contributed to the decline in NCBS staff turnover. Mobile units need to address the issue of donors who show up shortly before the stated end of the collection period. The top three customer complaints are hematoma, broken frozen plasma containers and donor health deferrals.
Records show that staff response to most complaints is rapid and effective.
The NCBS Region s quality standards and its performance to those standards are meeting the customer community s expectations and regulators demands. And the new Quality Plan is helping to assure that this level can be sustained well into the future. NCBS pricing remains competitive within the Region and the North Central Area. Revenue from in-region customers is slightly ahead of cost, while revenue from NIMS appears to be below cost. Combined, they cover cost.