Advancing anticoagulation stewardship: A call to action for stewardship from the US-based anticoagulation forum

Purpose

Anticoagulation Stewardship is urgently needed to improve anticoagulation management and bend the current, negative trajectory on anticoagulation-related harm. This manuscript catalogs the origins and the progression of the Anticoagulation Stewardship model and serves as a call to action for healthcare providers and organizations committed to improving the quality and safety of anticoagulation management.

Key elements

Tens of millions of patients around the world currently require anticoagulant therapy to prevent or treat thrombotic events. Concerningly, there is a growing body of evidence confirming that increasing volume and complexity of anticoagulant use is significantly impacting the therapeutic landscape, posing major challenges to safe prescribing and management of these high-risk, yet essential therapies, and leading to increased patient harm including life-threatening bleeding and thrombotic complications across the continuum of care. In response, anticoagulation stewardship programs, modeled after highly successful antimicrobial stewardship efforts, are gaining increased traction to counteract this growing health concern.

Conclusions

The current health care system is inadequate to protect patients from avoidable harms and to maximize the benefits of therapy. Apart from anticoagulation stewardship, there does not currently exist another cross-setting, multidisciplinary model for achieving maximum quality and safety for patients. If we are to collectively meet the challenge that stands before us, we must commit ourselves (as individuals and organizations) to leveraging the available resources to advance the anticoagulation stewardship model while also contributing to the burden of evidence and the effective articulation of the stewardship message.