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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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THSNA 2012
Free access to conference proceedings
The first Thrombosis and Hemostasis Summit of North American (THSNA) took place May 3-5, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, IL and was a tremendous success! There were over 1,500 people in attendance to hear 60 expert speakers present the latest information on thrombosis and hemostatsis. The meeting was completely dedicated to topics related to bleeding and clotting disorders and the medical specialties that monitor and address these conditions in a multidisciplinary manner. Attendees had the opportunity to network, learn, and share across disciplines and disease states.
As a special offer, the proceedings from the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Summit of North America are available for FREE. The proceedings were published in the American Journal of Hematology and feature 24 manuscripts including a guidance paper on the emergent reversal of oral thrombin and factor Xa inhibitors written by a THSNA working group. Click here to access the complimentary issue.
THSNA is a collaboration of the leading hemostasis and thrombosis non-profit organizations from the US and Canada including: American Thrombosis & Hemostasis Network, Anticoagulation Forum, Hemostasis & Thrombosis Research Society, North American Specialized Coagulation Laboratory Association, Association of Hemophilia Clinic Directors of Canada, Foundation for Women and Girls with Blood Disorders, National Blood Clot Alliance, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and the National Hemophilia Foundation.
The AC Forum would like to thank everyone involved for their efforts in making THSNA so successful. This achievement has led to an overwhelming desire by all participating organizations to collaborate again for 2014. Please plan to join us April 10-12, 2014 in Chicago for THSNA 2014. Please check www.thsna.org for updates. |
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Ground Rounds Opportunity for AC Forum Members
Nationally renowned faculty available to speak at your hospital!
Boston University School of Medicine Continuing Medical Education in partnership with the Anticoagulation Forum, is sponsoring a nationwide series of grand rounds meetings for community hospitals on using anticoagulation therapy for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.
These one-hour education sessions will include a nationally renowned speaker, who is available to visit your site and provide an interactive presentation on the most current methods of anticoagulation treatment. The program will include a 45-minute didactic lecture, using case-based examples at each of the sites. A 15-minute question and answer period will be included at the end of the lecture. In addition, the expert speaker may be able to consult on specific issues for one hour after the program.
We are offering this program to AC Forum members first. If you would like one of our speakers to present at your hospital's Grand Rounds program, please contact Michael Burk at mikeburk@bu.edu or call 617-638-6499.
Activity Type: Grand Rounds meetings in community based hospitals nation-wide
Date Range: September 1, 2012 through June 1, 2013
Program Focus: Anticoagulation therapy for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation
Accreditation Type: CME, CNE and CPE
Target Audience: Primary care providers, cardiologists, specialists in internal medicine, hospitalists, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and pharmacists
Program Goal: To inform participants about current treatment and best practices in the use of anticoagulation therapy for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation(AF) and how to implement new therapeutic treatment options, current guidelines, and best practices.
Outcomes Goals: To enable participants to increase their knowledge, competence, confidence, and performance in assessing stroke risk and providing optimal anticoagulation therapy for patients with AF.
Planning Committee:
- David Garcia, MD, Course Director
- Mark Crowther, MD
- Janet Delaney, ARNP, Nurse Planner
- Alan Jacobson, MD
- Scott Kaatz, DO
Specific Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this CME/CNE activity, participants will be able to:
- Recognize and articulate the increased risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation who receive inadequate prophylaxis
- List both the benefits and risks of anticoagulation therapy
- Identify strategies to utilize clinical guidelines in patient care to optimize outcomes of anticoagulation therapy
- Discuss data related to new oral anticoagulants which might be used for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation
- Compare warfarin to new oral agents with regards to cost, convenience, safety, efficacy, and pharmacology
- Demonstrate increased knowledge of current clinical and pharmacoeconomic research regarding care of patients with atrial fibrillation
- Develop strategies to improve the accuracy, frequency, and facility of communication with patients and caregivers regarding the benefits and risks of anticoagulation therapy
Accreditation Information
Boston University School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Boston University School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Continuing Nursing Education Provider Unit, Boston University School of Medicine is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
To schedule an activity please contact Michael Burk at mikeburk@bu.edu or call 617-638-6499. |
Survey on Anticoagulation Nurse Education
The Joint Commission, through publication of NSPG 03.05.01, requires that nurses and patients be properly educated regarding anticoagulation. Currently, however there are no national standards of education for nurses in this specialized role. A study is being conducted to determine how nurses are currently being educated, the content of that education, desired or important content for nurses to know, and how nurses maintain competency in anticoagulation and patient education. The method of data collection is a brief electronic survey addressing these issues. The survey is for any clinical manager or leader (lead RN, MD, NP, pharmacist) in an RN staffed clinic. Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey to help gather data and work toward improving the education of our nurses and subsequently better education and care for our patients.
Here is the link:
www.surveymonkey.com/s/NURSINGACED
Thank you for your time and participation. |
Ask Janet
Q: Janet I have many patients who have very fragile skin with frequent injuries and skin tears. What have you found to be the best way to manage these patients'?
Kelie M.
A: Excellent question!! In Florida we see this all the time based on our patient population. Frequently we will have patients walk in with their arms wrapped in thick gauze that has dried to a skin tear that they have on an upper or lower extremity.
Avoidance of this scenario is the best course, so we advise all patients to keep a product called "Wound Seal" on hand for situations like this. Wound Seal is a powder that can be applied to almost any wound. I have extensive experience with this product. Wound Seal was invented by one of our own warfarin patients.
The mechanism of action is that it forms an occlusive seal on the wound to keep it clean, dry and free of infection. This product, (also known as BioSeal CVC) has been shown in study using PICC lines to be effective in keeping access sites blood free.
Now, I know most of your patients don't have PICC lines that you need to tend to but they do have skin tears, dishwasher injuries, falls, scrapes, bumps and bruising. In my experience Wound Seal handles it very well.
It requires blood to work, but all a patient has to do with a skin tear is replace the flap of skin if possible, pour a packet of Wound Seal on the entire surface of the bleeding tear, apply pressure for 10seconds and then leave it alone.
This product can be used as a nasal application for epistaxis, it can be used on children, and I have used it on animals as well.
It will not work on a dry wound or bruising so for those patients with frequent purpura I recommend supplementing with 500mg vitamin C daily, Arnica Forte gel and capsules and protecting the skin with moisturizers or barrier protection.
What type of barrier? Well as odd as this seems I got this idea from my mom, who had the worst prednisone arms you have ever seen. She used to take men's knee high sports socks (remember the eighties everyone?) and cut them off at the heel and just wear them over her forearms when she was doing things around the house so she wouldn't get injured. They worked great!!
The products that I mentioned are not available everywhere, but in Florida; Wound Seal is carried exclusively at Walgreens. Arnica Forte can be found in most health food stores, and men's tube socks can be found anywhere including stores like Walmart, Target and CVS.
I hope this helps all of you with your patients.
JD |
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. Planning in underway and more information will be posted at www.acforum.org this summer. |
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