DOHA: Heart Hospital (HH) has established an Anti-coagulation Management Service (AMS), which aims to allow pharmacists to manage dedicated anticoagulation clinics at the hospital.
The hospital currently offers two anti-coagulation clinics, managed by physicians, which will gradually be taken over by pharmacists.
The AMS will boost pharmacist-led anticoagulation services between March and June 2014 in an effort to offer enhanced services at HH to patients who receive the anticoagulation medication warfarin (medicine that prevents blood clotting). A dedicated anticoagulation clinic, exclusively run by pharmacists will be set up at the hospital in the near future.
“The idea of having anticoagulation clinics run by pharmacists is supported by a lot of current literature and research, and is done at top-notch hospitals worldwide,” said Dr Manal Zaidan, Director of Pharmacy at HH and National Centre for Cancer Care and Research.
“As our vision is to be world class centre of excellence for providing comprehensive pharmaceutical care, we have developed AMS through a multidisciplinary effort by several departments at the hospital including: Medical Cardiology, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Dentistry, Maxillofacial Surgery, Pharmacy, Nursing, Out-patient Department (OPD), and the Laboratory, with the support of Center for Healthcare Improvement (CHI) and Health Information Systems (HIS), to assure timely and efficient assessment and monitoring of our patients who take this type of medication,” said Dr Zaidan.
Around 50 representatives from each department attended the signing of a collaborative agreement between HH’s Out-Patient Department, Director Dr Mohamed Al Hashemi, HH’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee Chairperson, Dr Salem AbuJalala, HH chief executive officer, Dr Lionel Jarvis as well as Dr Zaidan.
Dr Zaidan noted that the aim of the anticoagulation clinics is to be ‘a one-stop-shop.’
“Pharmacists will assess the patients, perform the International Normalized Ratio (INR) test, educate and dispense warfarin within the clinic. This process will decrease the waiting time for patients especially in that they will not have to go to the outpatients pharmacy to get their medication,” she explained.
“Currently, physicians at the two clinics offer anticoagulant services to 1,100 patients per month, with an average of 50 per day in one clinic. The pharmacist-led clinics will result in decreased patient waiting time, better patient education, expansion of services, and evidence-based and safer practice,” she stated.
The Peninsula
