Anticoagulation Forum Launches Centers of Excellence Website

NEWTON, Mass., Jan. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Anticoagulation Forum (AC Forum) has launched the web-based program, "Anticoagulation Centers of Excellence." The program has been created to help healthcare professionals provide the highest level of care and achieve the best possible outcomes for their patients on antithrombotic medications.The Anticoagulation Centers of Excellence program offers a roadmap to achieving consistent, sustainable excellence in patient care.

There are three essential components of the Centers of Excellence program; an assessment tool to determine if your anticoagulation service is operating at the highest level; a comprehensive, searchable resource center that provides the guidelines and tools to improve towards excellence; and the third element, called "Examples of Excellence," where practices are encouraged to share examples of innovative and successful solutions to challenges in patient care or service management.

Until now, there has not been a comprehensive standard to define ideal practices for an anticoagulation service or a central place to find the tools to champion improvement. This site will have a lasting and profound effect on anticoagulation care for many years to come.

Once they have taken the assessment and met the requirements, clinics will receive recognition for two years as an "Anticoagulation Center of Excellence."  Please visit www.excellence.acforum.org to explore the site.

Anticoagulation medications are known to be effective in reducing Atrial Fibrillation (AF)-related stroke, one of the worst consequences of AF. The Anticoagulation Forum supports member clinics working with AF patients to successfully manage their disease. Since our founding in 1991, The AC Forum has supported its members with education and resources. This groundbreaking program is novel in both its practicality and accessibility.  "We believe that excellence includes active participation in all aspects of patient care," says David Garcia, M.D., president of the AC Forum.  "We are looking for clinics to excel beyond the daily management of antithrombotic medications from the time a referral is received to the time the patient leaves the practice."

This program is funded in part by the following companies: Boehringer Ingelheim, Alere Anticoagulation Solutions, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., ITC (International Technidyne Corporation), Janssen, Philips INR@Home Service, and Roche.

About the AC Forum

The Anticoagulation Centers of Excellence is a program of the Anticoagulation Forum (AC Forum). The AC Forum is a multidisciplinary nonprofit organization of health care professionals with the mission of improving the quality of care for patients taking antithrombotic medications. Founded in 1991 by Jack Ansell, MD, the organization has grown to over 5,000 members representing over 1800 anticoagulation clinics throughout the world.  The AC Forum web site is located at www.acforum.org

For more information or to schedule an interview with Dr. David Garcia, please call Jacalyn Fallman at 617-454-1005, or e-mail Jacalyn at: [email protected].

SOURCE Anticoagulation Forum