IPRO-Led Panel Reports Consensus on Anticoagulation Management

LAKE SUCCESS, NY – An IPRO-led multi-disciplinary panel has reached consensus on essential anticoagulation management elements that need to be communicated to downstream providers upon transition between all health care settings.

According to the authors of a new article in The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, the proportion of emergency department visits due to anticoagulants in the U.S. increased by 57% from 2009 to 2014 and accounted for nearly 18% of all adverse drug event visits to emergency departments.

The 15 data elements experts agree need to be communicated during transitions from one care setting to another include precise information on recently initiated anticoagulants; whether patients are to be short-term or long-term users of the medications; explicit documentation of when anticoagulation medications should be reduced or discontinued; objective assessments of renal function; and documentation addressing the ability of patients to self-administer their medications and self-monitor their anticoagulation status.

The Anticoagulation Communication at Discharge List (ACDC list) "can potentially be incorporated into a nationally recognized, standardized, and implementation-ready assessment instrument, similar to what is currently being introduced to improve care coordination and care transitions across post-acute care settings," according to an editorial by authors from the CDC, Massachusetts General Hospital and the U.S. Public Health Service that accompanies the article.

"We commend the work of the Care Transitions Task Force of the New York State Anticoagulation Coalition in its rigorous assessment of the medication issues essential to high-quality anticoagulation management," according to Clare B. Bradley, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer of IPRO. "We're especially proud of the work of the IPRO pharmacy quality improvement team in conceptualizing and organizing this very timely activity."

IPRO is a national, not-for-profit healthcare organization that works with government agencies, providers and consumers to implement innovative programs that bring policy ideas to life. We do this by making creative use of clinical expertise, emerging technology, data solutions, and our diverse marketplace experience to make the healthcare system work better. Incorporated in 1983, IPRO is one of the nation's largest and most experienced healthcare quality improvement organizations. IPRO works in partnership with our clients to achieve their goals of improved, equitable, and cost-effective healthcare.

The article "Defining Minimum Necessary Anticoagulation-Related Communication at Discharge: Consensus of the Care Transitions Task Force of the New York State Anticoagulation Coalition," by Darren Triller, PharmD, Anne Myrka, BS Pharm, MAT, and colleagues appears in the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety (2018; 000:1-11). For further information, go to jointcommission.org.

This material was prepared by the Atlantic Quality Innovation Network (AQIN), the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization for New York State, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 11SOW-AQINNY-TskC.3.6-18-17

SOURCE IPRO