The apheresis nurses provide critical support to critically ill patients by performing various therapeutic procedures, especially plasma exchange. Not only does the nurse have to administer therapy, but he/she must constantly monitor the patient and the parameters of the procedure, including the blood components and IV solutions, medications, and any intra-procedure tests.

It is important that this data is collected in a visually appealing way to maximize pattern recognition and is easy for the nurse to enter the data. He/She does not have the time to flip through several pages to record everything.

The following is example of the TPE form we used at my previous position. I want to thank Dr. Saloua Al Hmissi, Consultant Transfusion Medicine, Ms. Mini Paul, Head Apheresis Nurse, and other apheresis staff for designing this beautiful form.

In my opinion, having a good manual form is the first step to computerizing the process since the design effort ensures the staff know the process thoroughly.