Warfarin and INR Monitoring

Warfarin & CoaguChek

Free INR testing and warfarin management

Do you take warfarin?

• Would you like Gilmours Pharmacy to help you manage your warfarin treatment?

• Would you like your INR to be measured with a finger prick of blood instead of a laboratory test?

• Would you like you INR results within 5 minutes of having you blood test?

• Would you like to know your warfarin dose instantly instead of waiting all day for a phone call?

• Would you like a printed calendar illustrating your warfarin dose to take home? 

The CoaguChek meter requires less blood and is therefore less painful than a venous blood sample. The results are as accurate as a lab based venous sample but are available much faster.

INRonline is a dosing software package designed by Palmerston North Haematologist Paul Harper. It uses a special calculator to work out what dose of warfarin is required to maintain a good INR range. The programme can be accessed by the pharmacy, GPs and patients.

Every patient will also receive a comprehensive warfarin counseling session with one of the qualified pharmacists to ensure they have a good understanding of warfarin. You will get a handout covering all the important information to remember about warfarin to take home.

Regular blood tests

Everyone on warfarin needs to have regular blood tests. The blood test, known as an INR (international normalized ratio), measures the speed of blood clotting. The INR result should be somewhere between 2 and 4 depending on why you are taking warfarin.

The INR result will help us decide what dose of warfarin you should continue taking. It will also help us decide how often you need to have the blood test done. 

• On the day you are due to have your next blood test, you would visit the pharmacy 

• A finger prick blood test can be done at anytime between 9am and 5pm Mon-Fri.

• Using the CoaguChek meter a trained pharmacist will measure your INR level.

• The INR result will be entered into the INRonline software.

• If a dose adjustment is required you will be told immediately and a new dosing calendar printed.

• All results are automatically transferred to your file on your doctor’s Patient Management System and to the national storage repositories for laboratory results.

• The entire process is expected to take about 5-10 minutes.

If you are interested in Gilmours managing your INR tests we will need consent from your GP and from yourself. Come in and chat to our team about this FREE service.

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