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If you’re on a blood-thinner, it’s likely you’re in and out labs a lot. Now, a new Coumadin patient self testing system can help you save you a lot of time while allowing you to remain on track toward good health.
For Barbara Varipapa, taking the blood thinning drug Coumadin to prevent stroke means being tethered to a hospital or clinic to have her blood drawn every week. “Sometimes I would get 2 weeks away from the hospital. Then something would happen, and I would have to go back every week again. It was very unpredictable and difficult,” says Barbara.
Yet the constant monitoring and testing of Coumadin patients is critical because if their levels go too high and they cut themselves, they can actually bleed to death. And if they dip too low, they can have a stroke.
Now thanks to the new patient self testing methods, Barbara and other patients are able to monitor their levels on their own, just like diabetics. The concept is the same. Barbara pricks her finger and puts a drop of blood on her machine. “It’s very simple. It takes about 6 minutes totally,” claims Barbara.
The results are right there in front of her.
“Patients get to know what their INR is and can figure out how it will change if they have too much of one thing or not enough of another,” says Maureen Howard, a family nurse practitioner at Staten Island University Hospital.
Their INR, or International Normalization Ratio, tells them if they need an adjustment of their medication. All kinds of things can throw their levels off, including diet and antibiotics. And even if they can’t recognize a change in their levels, their doctors will. The patient self testing results are phoned in, logged by a computer, and their physicians are notified.
“The only time we get involved in their care is when their INR is out of range,” says Maureen.
Researchers have found that self-testing heart patients on Coumadin stay within their INR more and therefore have fewer complications.
“As healthcare providers it’s our job to have the patients empowered to take a truly active role in their healthcare. This is one way to do it,” says Maureen.
For Barbara, it’s all about independence-- getting rid of that tether and taking one step at a time toward a healthier life.
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