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Factoring patients' beliefs and values into decisions around anticoagulation: a community-led multi-cycle quality improvement project

2023; Royal College of Physicians; Volume: 10; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.7861/fhj.2023-0034

2514-6653

Natalie Smith, Leonie Mosel Williams, Sam Harding, Kate Singh, Dur e Shahwar Soomro, Sughra Alawi, Monira Chowdhury, Vardeep Deogan, Ellie Parker, Alex Henson, Fraser Easton, Nixon Leung, Alison Staples, Seema Srivastava, Huzaifa Adamali, Shaney Barratt,

Health Literacy and Information Accessibility

Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), prescribed for prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism, is derived from porcine animal products. An audit in our Trust showed that most healthcare professionals (95%, n=58/61) did not consider religious or dietary preferences when prescribing LMWH. Focus groups with local stakeholders helped develop project aims. Quality improvement methods were used to develop, test and optimise interventions over two cycles in our medical unit. Interventions included written and audiovisual information for patients, a staff eLearning module, a policy to guide switching from LMWH to a synthetic alternative and a written prompt reminding doctors to consent patients before prescribing LMWH. The proportion of patients being appropriately consented for LMWH prescriptions increased following our interventions (from <5% at baseline to >80%). Patient and staff feedback was positive, with high demand for a non-animal-derived alternative to LMWH. Simple measures, increasing awareness and knowledge among staff and patients, can improve the number of patients being appropriately consented for LMWH prescriptions.