Creating a Pharmacist-Managed Anticoagulation Clinic: An Example of a Joint Endeavor between a Community Hospital and a College of Pharmacy

Abstract

Collaborative practice between pharmacists and physicians is an important component of the evolving role of the pharmacist providing outpatient anticoagulation clinical services. Multiple issues should be addressed before the implementation of such services, including ensuring state laws and regulatory agencies' requirements are met. When a collaborative agreement is formed, the support of hospital services is vital to develop an outpatient anticoagulation clinic. The authors wish to offer this legal and regulatory process that evolved over a 5-year time period as an overview of potential areas to address when beginning a pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinic. Our clinic example was between a community hospital and college of pharmacy faculty practitioners, but many of the principles can be extrapolated to other pharmacist practitioners not associated with a college of pharmacy. Throughout the article, we will briefly share the rationale and benefits of collaborative practice, with the main focus being the planning and implementation of an anticoagulation service and key hospital departments involved in that process.