Warfarin

A high score is good. Check/uncheck the legend icons to view/hide data.

Warfarin is a blood-thinning medication used to treat and prevent blood clots from forming in blood vessels. Warfarin therapy can lead to adverse medication events in hospital patients, including serious bleeding, side effects, and harmful reactions with other medications. Implementing and measuring warfarin therapy care management processes helps reduce the risk of harm related to warfarin therapy.

Warfarin Therapy Care Management at Mayo Clinic

One way to evaluate the care of hospital patients receiving warfarin therapy is to look at the percentage of eligible patients whose care met care guidelines in the table below. The goal for all Mayo medical facilities is to meet these guidelines in 99.3 percent of eligible patients.

A patient's INR score is determined by a blood test that measures the clotting ability of his/her blood. Serious bleeding risk occurs as a complication of warfarin therapy if the patient's INR becomes too high. The graph above displays the percentage of eligible (appropriate) Mayo Clinic hospital patients receiving warfarin therapy whose care met the standards of care guidelines.

How Warfarin Therapy Care Management is Measured and Evaluated

The quality measures listed in the table below are known as the "standards of care" for managing hospitalized patients receiving warfarin therapy. This list includes the medical care widely accepted as the most appropriate care guidelines for the majority of hospitalized patients receiving warfarin therapy.

Other Factors to Consider

Where there are opportunities, Mayo Clinic sites have implemented a standard evidence-based warfarin dosing protocol that more safely and consistently provides anticoagulation therapy.