title: Patients' and physicians' satisfaction with a pharmacist managed anticoagulation program in a family medicine clinic.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A pharmacist managed anticoagulation service was initiated in a multi-physician family medicine clinic in December 2006. In order to determine the patient and physician satisfaction with the service, a study was designed to describe the patients' satisfaction with the warfarin education and management they received from the pharmacist, and to describe the physicians' satisfaction with the level of care provided by the pharmacist for patients taking warfarin. A self-administered survey was completed by both eligible patients receiving warfarin and physicians prescribing warfarin between December 2006 and May 2008. The patient survey collected information on patient demographics, satisfaction with warfarin education and daily warfarin management. The physician survey collected data about the satisfaction with patient education and daily anticoagulation management by the pharmacist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-six of 94 (81%) patients completed the survey. Fifty-nine percent were male with a mean age of 65 years (range 24-90). Ninety-six percent agreed/strongly agreed the pharmacist did a good job teaching the importance of warfarin adherence, the necessity of INR testing and the risks of bleeding. Eighty-five percent agreed/strongly agreed the risk of blood clots was well explained, 79% felt the pharmacist did a good job teaching about dietary considerations and 77% agreed/strongly agreed the pharmacist explained when to see a doctor. All patients felt the pharmacist gave clear instructions on warfarin dosing and INR testing. Four of nine physicians (44%) completed the survey. All agreed/strongly agreed the pharmacist was competent in the care provided, were confident in the care their patients received, would like the pharmacist to continue the service, and would recommend this program to other clinics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients and family physicians were satisfied with the pharmacist managed anticoagulation program and recommended continuation of the program. These results support the role of the pharmacist in the management of anticoagulation in a multi-physician family medicine clinic.
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada. ldbishop@mun.ca.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bishop
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada. swyoung@mun.ca.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada. ltwells@mun.ca.|Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada. ltwells@mun.ca.
authors.forename: Laurie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Twells
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada. cmdillon@mun.ca.
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dillon
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Memorial University, 300 Prince Philip Drive, St. John's, NL, A1B 3V6, Canada. hawboldt@mun.ca.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hawboldt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002170:Canada; D005194:Family Practice / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000523:psychology*; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014859:Warfarin / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D014859:Warfarin