Anticoagulant clinics offer instant blood level readings and medication adjustments, as well as educational resources, to those taking blood thinners such as warfarin. Clinics may use finger shots instead of venous blood tests and can be found in cardiologist offices or hospitals.
There are many people who need to take anticoagulant medications, most often Coumadin® (warfarin) to help prevent excessive blood clotting. Warfarin is commonly prescribed for people with a variety of heart conditions, and there are other medical conditions that may warrant its use, or the use of drugs such as heparin, which also needs close attention. The problem with these drugs is that getting accurate drug blood levels takes some work, and it’s easy to throw off the levels by eating certain foods, when people get sick, or by using other drugs. Therefore many people need medication adjustments on a fairly regular basis and benefit from the services of an anticoagulant clinic.
In some circumstances, taking some blood thinners would normally mean that people had to have frequent blood tests in laboratories, but this is impractical and most laboratories send their own blood tests to be tested by other facilities. Being able to get instant blood level readings is vital and this is part of the job of an anticoagulant clinic. In most cases, these clinics work with each individual to test for appropriate blood levels and immediately adjust medications as needed, rather than allowing patients to stay on too low or too high levels for several days. The immediacy of being able to check blood levels and adjust medications is a big plus for these clinics.
Another benefit is that most types of blood thinning clinics do not require blood samples to be taken from your veins. Instead, improved equipment has led to the ability to test blood via blood samples taken from the fingers. For those people who have trouble getting accurate warfarin levels, finger shots are generally much easier to tolerate than frequent venous blood tests. These may still be needed from time to time, but may be required much less often.
A vital part of an anticoagulant clinic is its ability to offer not only blood tests and medication adjustment levels, but also educational resources to its clients. These can help people be aware of what warning signs to look for when taking warfarin and what things they should avoid doing. Clinics may also be open every day, although this varies, so that if a patient has questions about drug dosing, she can quickly access services without waiting for appointments.
A large cardiologist’s office might run an anticoagulant clinic, or many hospitals have outpatient clinics dedicated to this purpose. They can serve a large population base, and some offer services such as translation or education for parents of children treated with warfarin or those caring for elderly dependent on blood thinners. Many health insurance companies fully cover these services, and clinics may have special payment arrangements or accept government health care payments from those without health insurance.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
