Anticoagulation Safety

Patients taking anticoagulants, such as Coumadin®, to treat atrial fibrillation (AF) can reduce their risk of complications from this blood thinning medication through participation in the medical center’s Anticoagulation Service. A patient on long-term anticoagulation therapy must be closely monitored to assure safe and effective treatment. Patients are monitored with the CoaguCheck™ System, a sophisticated unit that eliminates the need for blood drawing and only requires a finger stick to assess whether their Coumadin® dose is appropriate. Results of this test are available within minutes, so patients no longer have to call their physicians the next day to get results, which are also posted online so that referring physicians can access them via a password-protected Internet site. The program’s multi-disciplinary team works closely with referring physicians to help these patients maintain optimal health. Aside from monitoring drug efficacy and toxicity, the team provides individualized educational and nutritional counseling and teaches self-management tools for safe usage. More than 90 percent of patients treated through the Anticoagulation Service are successfully controlled, and their risk of hospitalization for bleeding (related to anticoagulation use) is virtually eliminated.

Contact:
Lucy Pasquale, RN, MSN, APN
201-996-2086
lpasquale@humed.com