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Anticoagulation Management Program
The Coumadin Clinic at Ohio Heart Care is designed for patients on the
blood-thinning drug Coumadin. Ohio Heart Care has found through experience that
a patient's INR level is better controlled when they are on Coumadin as
opposed to generic substitutes. For this reason it is our practice to
specify Coumadin and write "Dispense as Written" on the prescription.
Patients are educated about Coumadin when they enroll in the Coumadin Clinic.
They are given videos, handouts and one-to-one instruction about how Coumadin
works. The patient is instructed about how food, especially the vitamin K in
food, affects the way Coumadin works in the body. Emphasis is placed on
maintaining a consistent diet to decrease fluctuations in Vitamin K
intake. The patient is also instructed about complications that might
occur if their INR is outside of targeted parameters.
Patients in the Coumadin Clinic have their blood drawn by fi nger
stick and are examined at the Ohio Heart Care office. (Patients no longer
have to be subjected to venous punctures to draw blood and a long wait for a
call back.) The blood is tested
immediately and immediate results are given to the patient. If the
Coumadin Dosage needs adjusted, the physician can make adjustments before the
patient leaves.
This process delivers, timely and appropriate intervention to avoid or
minimize possible bleeding or clotting complications.
A patient with a controlled INR level is seen every 28 days. A patient
is seen one week following a change in dose. Then if the patient is in range
that week then they return in two weeks. If after two weeks they are still in
range, they return three weeks later. If their INR level is still "under
control" then the next visit and subsequent visits will be every four
weeks.
Coumadin should be taken around the same time each day after 5 pm.
Links to additional information
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