Press Releases: Colorado
May 9, 2005
Lives saved when warfarin patients are monitored by anticoagulation management service
DENVER – A study by Kaiser Permanente’s Clinical Pharmacy Anticoagulation Service finds that patients on blood thinning medications have fewer complications when managed by a specialized anticoagulation service than those who receive usual care from their physicians. Clinical Pharmacists, using specialized knowledge of anticoagulant medications and a state of the art computerized patient tracking system, closely monitored the intensity of blood thinning, reminded patients to return for important laboratory tests, and provided intensive education to patients receiving the blood thinning medication warfarin (brand name Coumadin®). This extra attention prevented a number of anticoagulation therapy related complications each year. The study is published in the May edition of the medical journal CHEST, the journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.
The study is the first to include a large number of patients on warfarin therapy. A total of 6645 patients needing warfarin to maintain vascular health were studied. It found that patients in a Clinical Pharmacy Anticoagulation Service (CPAS) were 39 percent less likely to experience an anticoagulation therapy related complication (including major bleeding, clotting, or death), than patients in the control group. Patients in the CPAS group spent more days with what is considered adequate levels of blood thinning. It concluded that the evidence supporting a pharmacist-managed anticoagulation monitoring service is sufficient to recommended widespread implementation.
"Implementing a systematic process for keeping in touch with patients through simple phone and mail contact can help physicians everywhere improve the care of their warfarin patients," said Dan Witt, Pharm.D., Clinical Pharmacy Services Manager at Kaiser Permanente Colorado . "What this study shows is that when a focused group of pharmacy experts are allowed to partner with their physician colleagues to closely monitor this highly-sensitive drug, a patient’s risk of experiencing complications from warfarin is greatly reduced."
Since 1996, Kaiser Permanente Colorado ’s Clinical Pharmacy Anticoagulation Service has been responsible for most aspects of the clinical management of patients who take warfarin to prevent stroke, to maintain their health following heart valve surgery, or as treatment for deep vein thrombosis and other vascular diseases. The program taps the expertise of 16 clinical pharmacists who monitor more than 6,500 patients taking warfarin. Clinical pharmacists have received advanced training in pharmacy, with many earning a doctor of pharmacy or Pharm.D. degree, others have completed specialty residency training in clinical pharmacy practice. The Kaiser Permanente Colorado program is widely recognized as a model for innovative clinical pharmacy and patient safety programs.
About Kaiser Permanente Colorado
The Colorado Permanente Medical Group has an exclusive contract with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado to form Kaiser Permanente Colorado, the state's largest private, non-profit health care provider in the state. CPMG is Colorado's largest medical group practice within a health care organization, and employs 800 regular status physicians representing all medical specialties and major sub-specialties. More than 483,000 members in the Denver/Boulder and Colorado Springs areas have access to Kaiser Permanente care through an expanded suite of health care products. Kaiser Permanente physicians and care teams focus on prevention as well as managing disease, all in an effort to help patients live well and thrive. Visit us online at kp.org or get the latest in health news at our News Center.