pharmacy-assisted warfarin dosing cuts hospitalisation

PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 272 - 22 Jul 2000

■ A pharmacist-managed anticoagulation service hassignificantly reduced hospitalisation duration forinpatients prescribed warfarin at a university teachinghospital in California, US. Researchers at the hospitalcompared outcomes for 120 patients (mean age 59years) prescribed warfarin in 1992, when warfarindosing was via standard physician management (n =60), or in 1995, when warfarin dosing was overseenby the anticoagulation service pharmacist (60).* Themean length of stay after initiation of warfarin wassignificantly shorter in the pharmacy-assisted dosinggroup than in the control group (6.8 vs 9.5 days).Furthermore, there were fewer readmissions forbleeding or thrombosis within 3 months of initialdischarge in the pharmacy-assisted dosing group (5 vs10).* The physician was under no obligation to follow therecommendations of the pharmacist.

Dagar WE, et al. Optimization of inpatient warfarin therapy: impact of dailyconsultation by a pharmacist-managed anticoagulation service. Annals ofPharmacotherapy 34: 567-572, May 2000 800831378

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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 22 Jul 2000 No. 2721173-5503/10/0272-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved