FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Susan O’Neil
River City Studio
816.474.3922
Susano@rivercitystudio.com

Kansas City, Mo.–February 23, 2010–In June of 2008, River City Studio launched the first Antibody Registry in the United States on behalf of the Community Blood Center of Greater Kansas City, CBC. The online Registry is a resource for area transfusion services that contains names of patients with known alloantibodies and the antibodies identified. Containing more than 5,000 patient records, the Registry is an accessible, reliable, timely, lifesaving application for transfusion services and patients.

To date, hospital and blood bank records have been filed and maintained on physical paper, which can be difficult to locate and interpret when time is the difference between life and death. Blood banks and hospital communities bear many complications to provide safe and efficient transfusion processes. Patients requiring blood transfusions undergo mandatory testing for antibodies to identify a multitude of potential incompatibilities. Such incompatibilities can lead to hemolysis, delayed transfusion reaction and destruction of red blood cells, all of which negate the benefits of the transfusion and can result in serious illness or death.

Any delay in obtaining patient history or information means a delay in treatment, which can result in medical complications, extended hospital stays and expenditure of time and resources. Facing this reality, CBC approached River City Studio's Web development team to create a central online antibody record that follows patients despite changes in hospital, healthcare provider or insurance carrier. "On the Registry's first day of activity, a hospital blood bank discovered a transfusion patient had a complex antibody profile. Ordinarily, several hours would be spent identifying the antibody, but the Antibody Registry provided the Community Blood Center with crucial information in a timely manner," said Vickie Schwickerath, manager of hospital relations, Community Blood Center. "The hospital saved vital time and the patient avoided a potentially life-threatening incompatibility."

Over a year after incorporating the Antibody Registry into their practice, the Community Blood Center accredits this system with remarkable savings in time and money. A partnering hospital states that the Antibody Registry is "an amazing feature. Really cuts down on calls that have to be made to CBC to check on a patient." "While the government and Congress continue to debate on how to provide affordable solutions to healthcare, I'm proud that two Kansas City businesses are able to team up to provide an affordable solution to improve the delivery of healthcare services," said Deb Turpin, River City Studio CEO. "Feedback from our client and the hospitals they serve has been extremely positive as use of the Registry continues to save time, money and most importantly lives."

During the first year of use, the Antibody Registry was accessed more than 3,100 times. Sixty-eight hospitals viewed records and 13 of these hospitals had the ability to enter their own patient antibodies for further documentation. Hospitals report that the Registry prevents delayed transfusion reactions and reduces required blood samples and turnaround time for workups. Additional benefits of the Registry include reduced risk of hemolytic transfusion reactions, faster cross-matches, less reliance on patients' memory of prior treatments and instant access to records from other facilities.

The password-protected and encrypted system meets HIPAA and HITECH standards with multi-tiered security levels. Sensitive patient information is protected through varied levels of access, all user activity is time stamped, recorded and a double-entry system reduces the possibility of data entry error. The Blood Center staff is able to add patient information and participating hospitals view records and add notes via a Web browser. Blood Center staff assigns privileges to select individuals and post important medical memos, recall information, hospital services and pricing information in one central location. The user-friendly interface allows authorized users to quickly locate and retrieve a patient's test records from any participating blood bank or transfusion service.

With the proven success of the Antibody Registry application, River City Studio is now offering this Web-based application to other Blood Centers around the United States. Please visit www.antibodyregistry.com or call 816.474.3922 for more information.

About River City Studio
River City Studio specializes in strategic marketing, branding, application development, Web development and optimization, public relations and social media. River City Studio has a 25 year history of developing affordable, custom solutions that provide a measurable return on investment. Our history and commitment of giving back to the community where we live and work is part of our culture and something we cherish. River City Studio’s 17 employees are located in the historic River Market Area of Kansas City, Missouri. For more information on the Studio’s talents and offerings, visit www.rivercitystudio.com.