Thrombotrack™ point-of-care coagulometers can save practices over £2.00 per INR test claims Axis-Shield UK

Figures released today by Axis-Shield UK show practices can save over £2.00 per INR test (International Normalised Ratio) for warfarin management, by using the Thrombotrack point-of-care system.

Research undertaken by Axis-Shield UK, in conjunction with Beacon Medical Practice (BMP), has shown that performing INR tests using the Thrombotrack™ versus a popular strip based system can help to significantly reduce costs. The practice has spent £7,852.50 on performing 10,250 INR tests, compared to the £28,495* it would have cost using the other popular system.

The BMP anticoagulation clinic is also significantly improving patient care and has seen many patient benefits from using a point of care coagulometer. Using the Thrombotrack™ has allowed them to process results in the clinic rather than sending samples to the laboratory for testing. This means the practice can provide a one-stop clinic for patients, enabling them to advice the warfarin dosage required at the time of the actual test.

Commenting Jean Walton, Anticoagulation Practitioner at BMP, who had a leading role in setting up the clinic, said: “The aim of our clinic was to help improve the care of patients in our area that were taking OATs, such as warfarin, and to take the pressure off over-crowded hospital based services. Within our service we decided to use Thrombotrack™ which we found correlated well with laboratory results from venous samples. We recently calculated that performing tests using this system costs as little as £0.77 per result.”

Continuing she said: “Using a coagulometer patients no longer have to wait for their results or attend follow up appointments, which is obviously is a real benefit to them as they can discuss their concerns with a healthcare professional at the time of this change. To assess what patients thought about our new service we conducted a small survey in the Skegness area which revealed that patients were very happy with the clinics. They appreciate receiving individual consultations and seeing the same staff each time. We now run daily clinics that cover three practices in Skegness on different sites and our current patient load is in excess of 700.”

The BMP anticoagulation clinic was first set-up in 2006, when GPs in the Lincolnshire area decided to move over-crowded anticoagulation clinics into primary care. Previously they monitored patients taking OATs, such as warfarin, by venous blood samples sent to a laboratory for testing.

The clinic treats patients with conditions including; cardiac problems, acute VTE, cardiac surgery and thromboprophylaxis. The team consists of two GPSIs and four healthcare assistants.

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* including lancets but excluding the instrument and controls, which would add to this total.

About Thrombotrack:

Thrombotrack is a small, easy to use coagulometer that can be used to measure the International Normalised Ratio (INR) of patients taking oral anticoagulation therapy (OAT). It eliminates the need for time consuming laboratory testing and hospital visits by providing immediate results.

About Axis-Shield:

Axis-Shield UK is part of the Axis-Shield Group which develops, manufactures and distributes high quality, in-vitro diagnostic testing technologies that help improve healthcare and patient management. The company has a range of proprietary technologies and runs an active programme of development for new products that can be utilised across clinical laboratories, in hospitals or by Primary Care Trusts (PCT). The organisation manufactures key devices including Afinion^™ and Thrombotrack^™ and works with medical company Abbott to distribute i-STAT^® - a unique handheld analyser.

At the point-of-care (in hospitals or in the community), Axis-Shield’s novel, branded products can be used for the early, rapid and differential diagnosis and treatment of patients while they are present – ultimately speeding treatment times and helping to improve lives.

In the laboratory sector, Axis-Shield specialises in proprietary markers for the diagnosis and management of critical illnesses such as cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and rheumatoid arthritis.