The establishment and evaluation of a pharmacist-developed anticoagulant clinic

An outpatient anticoagulant service was marketed and developed by two hospital-based teacher practitioners using standard protocols and referral guidelines. A twice-weekly clinic was established for approximately 200 general medical and cardiology patients. An evaluation of clinic performance was conducted after a year of operation and included an audit of treatment control and assessment of patient knowledge. A high compliance with the patients' treatment range was recorded and reasons for deviation identified. Areas of poor patient knowledge were highlighted and addressed. The paper presents operational standards for clinic management derived from our experience