Anti-coagulation pilot approved
Fifteen community pharmacies will work alongside general practices in a country-wide pilot to provide Anti-coagulation Management Service (AMS) to atrial fibrillation patients.
The pilot is an extension of a similar service successfully trialled by Hamilton’s Pharmacy 547 in collaboration with Roche Diagnostics and INR Online.
The Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand put a proposal for the pilot to Health Workforce New Zealand (HWNZ) in March this year to access Workforce Innovation Demonstration Site funding for it.
After the proposal passed through the review process, the society was asked to submit a detailed business case which received the HWNZ’s green signal on 21 July. The contract for the pilot is likely to be in place by September.
Each of the 15 pharmacies will have up to 50 enrolled patients and all participants will be required to undergo training, developed by the respective colleges of GPs and pharmacists.
Pharmaceutical Society president Elizabeth Plant says approval for the pilot is of “huge significance” for the profession as it will help realise community pharmacy’s untapped potential.
“By giving a go-ahead to the proposal, HWNZ has acknowledged the value of community pharmacy in primary healthcare,” Mrs Plant says.
The AMS pilot also signifies the beginning of the realisation of community pharmacy’s aspiration to become a key member of the clinical team. Its success could pave the way for other similar initiatives that better ulitise community pharmacists’ skills in patient care.
“The main objective of the AMS pilot is to develop and implement a new model of care for warfarin management in primary care,” Mrs Plant says.
“Warfarin monitoring and management services will be provided through community pharmacy with the pharmacist working closely with general practice to deliver optimal outcomes for warfarin patients.”
By significantly improving on current practice, the AMS could help create greater confidence in warfarin management and, thereby, result in more appropriate warfarin prescribing in atrial fibrillation patients. That would also help reduce incidents of warfarin-related adverse medication events.
Based on the evidence generated by the pilot, AMS could be extended to community pharmacies across the country. ?
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