Warfarin Monitoring
Warfarin is a widely prescribed anticoagulant for the prevention of thrombosis and embolism associated with a number of disorders.
Despite its effectiveness, treatment with warfarin has several shortcomings. Many commonly used medications interact with warfarin, as do some foods and its activity has to be monitored by frequent blood testing for the international normalized ratio (INR) to ensure an adequate yet safe dose is taken.
Testing
Typically a new Warfarin user is required to attend a hospital clinic for testing on a daily basis, and as the dosage stabilises the intervals can extend to weekly visits.
The cost and inconvenience for a user of attending hospital, often with mobility limiting issues such as DVT requires a better solution, for example testing in a local GP clinic, or in the home. Alere can provide equipment and monitoring for both of the above environments.
The test itself is rapid and relatively inexpensive, requiring a drop of blood on a disposable test strip. Alere can remotely monitor the readings and involve the patient and the community team when the dosage levels fall outside prescribed limits.