IntraHealth delivered its first anticoagulant monitoring clinic in 1994. This initial service has grown to reach today’s National service which is delivered to 13 CCGs in England (across Midlands, North East and North West). We manage more than 9,000 patients annually & performed more than 114,000 near patient INR tests in 2019/20, including 40,000 home-visits, whilst delivering the outcomes of Anticoagulation service specifications for the commissioner.
Our mission has always been to provide the best possible Anticoagulation service for our patients.
Our team of 56 specialist clinicians provides the service through a convenient one-stop service for patients. We use near patient testing (point of care tests) to determine the INR result. This allows a high level of convenience for patients who receive test results within minutes. A specialist clinician who will counsel them on their dosage rather than wait for results to come back from a hospital laboratory sees them. Our standards are high. Patients under our care consistently achieve a good level of INR control. The Time in Therapeutic Range (TTR) is a good measure of anticoagulation control: 79% of our patients with Atrial Fibrillation have a TTR of 65% or more (NICE Clinical guideline CG180).
Clinic appointments last an average of 10 minutes, providing sufficient time for patients to receive their new dose and discuss any aspects of their treatment. Clinics are held at GP practices, other NHS premises and home visits are also provided. IntraHealth in partnership with Teesside University provide a course entitled ‘Anticoagulant Monitoring in Practice’.
For Commissioners, IntraHealth can provide many benefits to CCGs including;
- Experience of delivering Anticoagulation services through a number of different contract models including any qualified provider contracts, block or prime provider contracts
- Performance Monitoring data audits available upon request, to demonstrate high standards of care
- Knowledge that all clinicians have received professionally accredited training
- Cost effective maintenance of TTR, resulting in fewer hospital admissions
- Consultancy support to analyse different models for the delivery of Anticoagulation services
- Provision of a very experienced, dedicated team to manage patients taking anticoagulants
For businesses, IntraHealth can provide the following benefits to GP Practices including;
Delivering Anticoagulation services on behalf of GP Practices / GP Federations
Providing Training, Clinical Supervision, Mentorship and Peer Review to less experienced clinicians [Teesside University Course]
Providing a National telephone support service for GP practices and their patients
Releasing clinician time; by removing the need for the practice to provide their own Anticoagulation service
Using near patient testing / point of care equipment to obtain immediate INR results
Responsible for initiating new patients and relevant follow up
Liaise with care home staff and patients
Fielding phone calls and queries from patients and other healthcare professionals
Follow up of patients when discharged from hospital
Communicating dosage changes with domestic carers and community pharmacies
Entry of up-to- date INR results directly onto GP practice computer systems
Providing time in therapeutic range date (TTR) for patients being managed by our service
Support practices to facilitate annual reviews of anticoagulant therapy. We can provide the following information – individual patient’s INR control, adherence, details of failed clinic/home visit encounters and TTR.
Support GP practices with QOF. The Anticoagulation service can work with practices to identify patients on the AF register to determine their need for oral anticoagulation.
Locum & Holiday Cover: If your Anticoagulation service does not have a clinician due to holidays or sickness, IntraHealth can provide experienced clinicians to deliver a high standard of patient care. Please contact IntraHealth for further details and to discuss your requirements.