Warfarin care
The aim of our Warfarin Care program is to manage your warfarin therapy safely and effectively. This requires close cooperation between you, your doctor, and Warfarin Care.
Jump to: Patient guide | Results by SMS | Eligibility criteria | Billing policy
Warfarin care patient guide
Our Warfarin Care booklet contains important information about your warfarin medication and your responsibilities as a patient in our program. Please read the information carefully.
If you have any further questions about warfarin after reading our booklet below, please call SNP Warfarin Care on (07) 3377 8777 or 1300 769 440 if outside of Brisbane, Monday - Friday 10.00am to 4.00pm (closed weekends and public holidays).
Warfarin results by SMS
Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology Warfarin Care patients, or their carers, can receive INR, dose instructions and next test date by SMS.
No phone queues. No waiting for a letter. It's as simple as 1 - 2 - 3 - 1) Register, 2) Confirm and 3) Receive an SMS.
The full terms and conditions and registration form are available in the patient brochure.
Eligibility criteria
To be eligible for enrolment on our program, you must:
- Be taking Warfarin (not Dindevan medication)
- Have a minimum enrolment period of one month
- Have a General Practitioner who refers their patients to Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology
- Have a valid contact phone number and mailing address
- Be able to comprehend and record verbal dose instructions
- Be able to comply with dose instructions (or have a carer who can comply)
- Be able to attend for testing on scheduled dates, subject to exceptional circumstances
- Not have been discharged from a Warfarin Care program due to non-compliance
- Not require a narrow target range (less than one unit)
- Not require daily INR levels
- Not require acute care
Ongoing patient eligibility for Warfarin Care
Patients who were eligible on enrolment will become ineligible for our Warfarin Care program if they:
- Require a narrow target range
- Require daily INR levels
- Are non-compliant
- Become unable to follow verbal or written dose instructions
- Are abusive to Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology staff
- Develop complex clinical conditions or become unstable where one-on-one management by their own referring doctor is necessary
- Experience ongoing difficulties attending on scheduled test dates - for example, patients who reside in remote areas or whose employment requires frequent travel
Your doctor will be advised of any concerns Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology has regarding your suitability for our program. If these concerns cannot be resolved, then we will return the responsibility for managing your Warfarin therapy to your doctor.
Billing policy
Everyone responds differently to warfarin. Ensuring your dose is accurate is a complex operation. The regular blood tests we perform enable us to determine your particular dose and are critical in keeping your warfarin levels stable. Behind the scenes there is a whole team of people taking care of you, including your collector, our couriers, administration staff and scientists, specialist GPs and pathologists who monitor your warfarin levels and provide your dose instructions.