Devlivering an Anticoagulation Service with INRstar

Warfarin dosing Anticoagulation decision support software used in conjunction with Point of Care Testing (PoCT) is increasingly adopted as a means of delivering a cost effective anticoagulation therapy service. This is driven by an opportunity to reduce workload, improve efficiency, increase patient satisfaction and ultimately reduce the overall service cost. INRstar, the market leader leading anticoagulation management solution in Primary Care decision support software for anticoagulation management, delivers benefits for all service providers:

Primary Care Organisations

Anticoagulation services are constantly evolving into new delivery models, a trend that is likely to increase with the introduction of the New Oral Anticoagulation Drugs. Primary Care Organisations (PCOs) can find themselves monitoring existing providers, commissioning new services from GPs and other 'willing providers', or rolling out community-wide services which might combine elements of each.

PCOs commission community anticoagulation services as a popular and achievable service improvement with cost saving potential. An increasingly preferred approach combines the hospital, GPs, provider groups, domiciliary services and even pharmacies in a communitywide network.

Service consistency and the facility to audit activity are fundamental to any anticoagulation service, but more so with a community-wide approach. INRstar offers a flexible management platform adaptable to the majority of service models with powerful audit and reporting capabilities within the system. Central administration of networked providers presents the opportunity to implement community-wide anticoagulation protocols, ensuring service consistency.

A number of PCOs across the UK have successfully migrated anticoagulation management services into Primary Care using INRstar. Reduced costs, continuity of care and management of safety issues associated with transfer from Secondary into Primary Care are just some of the benefits they are seeing.

A typical scenario of service evolution at a large PCO:

• Provision is initially by the Acute Trust with a few GPs providing isolated services.
• A consortium of local GPs successfully bids for a LES to expand community services.
• INRstar was the chosen platform with full staff training delivered, and legacy data uploaded from existing systems.
• The 'Clinical Lead' user ensures that system configuration conforms to local service specifications and guidelines whilst common settings ensure consistency of treatment and audit across multiple service providers.

For assistance with planning and implementing or upgrading your anticoagulation service, get in touch with a member of our experienced team.