Evaluation of a primary care anticoagulant clinic managed by a pharmacist

Hospital outpatient anticoagulant clinics managed by pharmacists have improved the quality of care and resource use.1 Patients receiving anticoagulation often are elderly, cannot endure long waiting times,2 and find travelling to hospital difficult. Their effective management requires access to information about current medical problems and treatments. Systems for managing risks associated with new prescriptions or illnesses which may affect anticoagulant control should also be available. For all these reasons a clinic based in the general practitioner's surgery might be more appropriate for patients who need long term monitoring. This study aimed to assess the benefits and costs to patients and general practitioners of a surgery based anticoagulation clinic run by a pharmacist. In September 1994 a weekly pharmacist led clinic was established in Downfield Surgery. International normalised ratios were measured from capillary blood …