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Our Mission
The Anticoagulation Forum is a multidisciplinary nonprofit organization of healthcare professionals that will improve the quality of care for patients taking antithrombotic medications.
Board of Directors
David Garcia, MD
Jack Ansell, MD
Mark Crowther, MD
Janet Delaney, MSN, ARNP
Alan Jacobson, MD
Scott Kaatz, DO
Stephan Moll, MD
Edith Nutescu, PharmD
Lynn Oertel, MS
Terri Schnurr, RN
Daniel Witt, PharmD
Ann Wittkowsky, PharmD
Contact Us
Executive Director
Anticoagulation Forum
This newsletter is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide specific medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should always seek advice from a physician or other qualified health care provider for your individual medical needs. The AC Forum does not endorse or recommend any commercial products. |
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Don't Miss THSNA!
May 3-5, 2012
Don't miss out on the opportunity to attend the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Summit of North America (THSNA)!
Network, learn and share information, research and best practices needed to improve the quality of patient care with thrombosis and hemostasis disorders! Register here for the conference! |
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Stop The Clot Forum
A Great Opportunity for Patients in the Chicago Area!
The National Blood Clot Alliance is proud to provide the patient track for THSNA, on Saturday, May 5 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
This half-day patient track will consist of a Stop The ClotŪ Forum, an interactive program that provides basic information about blood clots, signs and symptoms, risk factors, prevention and treatment. The Forum provides an opportunity for expert healthcare professionals to provide up-to-date information to those whose lives are affected by blood clots and clotting disorders.
A goal of this program is to enable patients and their families to be better equipped to make decisions about their health, communicate with their health care providers and cope with living with blood clots and clotting disorders. The Stop The ClotŪ Forum will focus on "everything you ever wanted to know about clotting" include topics such as Risk Factors for Blood Clots, Treatment and Prevention of Venous Thrombosis (blood clots), Coping with the Long-term effects of Blood Clots, Voices of Experiences (presented by a panel of patients) and an opportunity to Meet the Experts for small group open-ended discussions and questions and answers.
This patient education program of the National Blood Clot Alliance is funded through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NBCA's goal is to close the knowledge gaps about blood clots and clotting disorders by providing health information to this target audience.
For additional information about the Stop The ClotŪ Forum, please visit www.stoptheclot.org or contact the National Blood Clot Alliance at 1.877.4NO.CLOT.
Please forward this information onto your patients.
They should register here for the Stop The ClotŪ Forum. |
Real World Patient Self-Testing Experience
the STABLE Study Webinar
Webinar offered on April 5th.
Presentation by: Jack Ansell, MD, chairman of medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and founder of AC Forum.
Dr. Ansell is recognized as an international expert on anticoagulation and a member of: the American College of Chest Physicians, American Society of Hematology, the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, and the Anticoagulation Forum. Dr. Ansell is the principal investigator for the largest patient self-testing study (STABLE) ever conducted. Dr. Ansell will be presenting the findings of the study he presented at the 61st Annual American College of Cardiology meeting.
STABLE (Self-Testing Analysis Based Long-Term Experience) is a retrospective study of real-world Patient Self-Testing outcomes including more than 68,000 patients and 3.1M INR results. The presentation will include details of how testing frequency and a comprehensive support service has outperformed high quality randomized controlled clinical trials including the 2010 VA THINRS cooperative trial and the Bloomfield PST meta-analysis published in the Archives of Internal Medicine in 2011.
Click here to register for the STABLE Study Webinar. |
Ask Janet
Janet,
I have a patient with AFIB that absolutely refuses to increase his dose of warfarin beyond taking 5 mgdaily. He has been on warfarin now for one month. Each week I have increased his dose to try to get him into therapeutic range but when he comes back he is still 1.1. He states he is not going to take more then the 5mg daily regardless of my recommendations. What do I do?
Anne M, NP
This is one of the most difficult and challenging patients you will encounter in your practice. My experience has taught me that most often this patient is deathly afraid of taking warfarin either because they knew someone who had a serious event or they have a perception that a serious event will take place. Often you will hear "I don't want to bleed."
First this patient needs support and education. If I am dealing with a patient this way I talk straight numbers, not "what ifs". I explain to the patient what their risk of stroke is based on their CHADS2/Vasc scores, their risk of an adverse bleeding event, and the risk reduction associated with OAC. I discuss the cold hard facts of life with a stroke and assess what is their greater fear, bleeding or stroke? I then give them all the options for risk reduction including the newer therapies, as well as, the data we have on aspirin in AFIB. I allow them to tell me what they want from this experience.
Next, I give them the numbers when it comes to their bleeding. Most people have a perception that on warfarin they are going to bleed a lot.
I am not sure where this comes from but some truly believe that if they cut themselves it won't stop. Patients should be advised on how to manage minor cuts or scrapes and ways to prevent such injuries at home or work.
This patient also needs to know that bleeding is not normal on anticoagulation because for some reason they think it is. However they need to know what type of bleeding to report and appropriate action to take if it should occur.
Next I tackle the rat poison issue, which just drives me crazy! Why do prescribers continue to tell patients warfarin is rat poison?
If all of the information you have just provided this patient does not allay their fears and they continue to manipulate their dose, the next step is to actively engage your referring or prescribing physician for additional support. We are fortunate today since we have additional options for oral anticoagulants and perhaps, this may be an acceptable alternative for such a challenging patient. The fixed doses of these medications may allay the patient's worry that he is 'taking too much'.
Janet |
SAVE THE DATE!
12th National AC Forum Conference
May 9-11, 2013, Phoenix AZ
Announcing the 12th National AC Forum Conference! Please save the date and join us May 9-11, 2013 at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge in Phoenix, Arizona. Attendees will gather to hear expert speakers present on the newest research as well as practical, evidence-based information that can be applied in daily practice to enhance the quality of anticoagulation care.
Program planning has begun! We would like your input for this meeting. Please send topic and speaker suggestions to info@acforum.org. |
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