Impact of point-of-care implementation in pharmacist-run anticoagulation clinics within a community-owned health system: A two-year retrospective analysis
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Hospital Pharmacy
Abstract
Background: Point-of-care (POC) testing devices allow laboratory monitoring to be performed in various settings and accessed immediately. Objective: To evaluate the outcomes of monitoring anticoagulation patients in pharmacist-managed, multicenter clinics utilizing i-STAT POC machines. Methods: This study was a retrospective, multicenter chart review of 150 patients before and after implementation of the POC intervention for anticoagulation monitoring. Data collected included international normalized ratio (INR) results, indication for warfarin, minor and major bleeds, thromboembolic events, emergency room (ER) visits, and hospitalizations before and after i-STAT POC implementation. Results: The time in therapeutic INR range (TTR) was significantly higher after i-STAT POC implementation than before implementation (60.4% ± 21.2% and 52.5% ± 21.5%, respectively; P =.0001). There were no reports of major bleeding during the study period. Twenty-three minor bleeds were reported after i-STAT POC implementation compared to 19 events before implementation (P <.0001). One thromboembolic event was reported after i-STAT POC implementation. There was a significant difference in the number of hospitalizations before i-STAT POC implementation as opposed to after implementation (2 and 0, respectively; P <.0001). There was also a significant increase in ER visits after i-STAT POC implementation (P <.0001). Conclusion: The results of the study indicate improvement in TTR in pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinics by 7.8%. Although the use of the i-STAT POC machine detected an increase in minor bleeds, thromboembolic events, and ER visits, there was a decrease in hospitalization. The outcomes of this multicenter study indicate that implementation on this scale provides improvement in regard to safety and cost.
First Page
783
Last Page
788
DOI
10.1310/hpj5009-783
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Recommended Citation
Challen, Laura; Agbahiwe, Sylvester; Cantieri, Tara; Olivetti, Jessica Garcia; Mbah, Theophilus; Mendoza-Becerra, Yvonne; Munoz, Cesar; Nguyen, Michelle; Partee, Katashia; Thomas, Jocelyn; Lal, Lincy; and Green, Monica, "Impact of point-of-care implementation in pharmacist-run anticoagulation clinics within a community-owned health system: A two-year retrospective analysis" (2015). Pharmacy Practice Faculty Publications. 247.
https://doi.org/10.1310/hpj5009-783
https://collections.uhsp.edu/pharm-practice_pubs/247