Clinics help patients manage blood disorders

Dave Armstrong has learned to be careful about what he eats.

“There are some foods I can’t have and any big change in what I eat can screw up my warfarin,” he says of the high-risk medication he takes to keep his blood from clotting.

Armstrong, 57, has a rare hereditary blood clotting disorder that he keeps in check with the help of the Anticoagulation Management Service (AMS) Clinic in Athabasca. 

The clinic -- one of several in the province -- is run by a specially trained pharmacist and educates people with blood disorders about their disease, how their medication works and how to keep the warfarin on track. 

AMS clinics have been shown to improve patient outcomes, decrease the number of admissions to hospitals and visits to hospital emergency departments, plus reduce strokes and bleeding complications.

Before visiting the clinic, Armstrong had been on a health kick, eating more spinach than usual. When he met with the clinic’s pharmacist, he found out binging on leafy greens was reacting with his medication and putting his health at risk. 

Armstrong is one of hundreds of people the Athabasca clinic has helped. The patients get regular blood tests and the results sent to the clinic, where the pharmacist reviews the results and calls patients to follow up.  

Many doctors’ offices only call patients if their blood test is abnormal. A growing number of doctors are referring patients to AMS clinics and telehealth videoconferencing technology to help reduce the distance patients have to travel for service.  

“Warfarin is considered a high-alert safety medication,” says Cindy Jones, the pharmacy supervisor at the Athabasca Healthcare Centre and AMS Clinic lead.

“If it’s not managed properly, it’s not safe.”

In Athabasca, patients are welcome to phone Jones at any time. Bonnie Kerr appreciates the access.  She suffered a stroke in 2003 and has been taking warfarin ever since.

“(Jones) takes the time to listen to you and give you the freedom to ask questions,” says Kerr, 67. “I never feel hurried or rushed.”   

And AMS clinics help relieve strain on the health care system, says Gail Hufty, vice-president of Pharmacy Services for Alberta Health Services.

“Using professionals like pharmacists out in some of these rural communities and with some of these clinics offsets some of the demand on the limited rural physicians,” Hufty says.

Jones says taking time to talk with patients when and where they need it is a crucial part of her job at the clinic.

“I sit down with new patients one on one and we talk for about an hour,” she says. 

“Whether they’ve been on blood thinners for years or just started, there is always something that they’re going to learn. And the more a patient knows about their medication, the better they can take it.”