Computer program to assist pharmacy management of an inpatient warfarin dosing service

Inpatient warfarin: Experience with a pharmacist-led anticoagulation management service in a tertiary care medical center

“…7 Daily INR values and warfarin dosages are documented in this database, as are the patient's medical history, indication for warfarin, interacting medications, additional laboratory test values, the name of the physician requesting the consultation, and the name of the clinic to which the patient should report after discharge. This database allows pharmacists to see INR values and warfarin dosages from previous admissions.…”

Implementing anticoagulation management by pharmacists in the inpatient setting

“…SMMC recently described the development of a Microsoft Access (Microsoft, Redmond, WA) database program to organize its service. 38 This type of program allows the tracking of all active patients throughout the hospital. This helps each pharmacist identify which patient on anticoagulants requires an assessment and a care plan.…”

“…For example, SMMC uses the electronic tracking system already described to print a history report that is provided to the outpatient care provider to maintain continuity of care during the transition process. 38 Pharmacists at UCDMC have electronic access to both inpatient and outpatient anticoagulation management records.…”

“…A very helpful feature of the SMMC computer organization program is the ability to generate indicators on the quality of service provided. 38 This allows for continuing quality improvement of the program. Currently, SMMC tracks the percentage of INRs that are greater than 3.5, greater than 6, and the percentage of INRs in therapeutic range.…”