Oral anticoagulation and self-management: analysis of the factors that determine the feasibility of using self-testing and self-management in primary care

BACKGROUND The skills of patients on oral anticoagulants are critical for achieving good outcomes with this treatment. Self-management, or the capacity of patients to control their INR level and adjust their treatment, is an effective strategy of treatment. Capacity of patients to self manage is determined by a range of factors. The identification of these factors would improve the design of self management programmes and in turn increase the number of patients able to self-manage. The objective of our study is to identify those factors that determine the ability of patients on oral anticoagulant therapy to achieve self-management of their treatment. DESIGN This will be a three year quasi- experimental prospective study with a control group. 333 patients on anticoagulant therapy from five health centres of the Basque Health Service are to be followed up for a period of six months each after the intervention, to assess their ability to self-test and self-manage. The intervention will consist of a patient training programme involving the provision of information and practical training concerning their condition and its treatment, as well as how to use a portable blood coagulation monitoring device and adjust their anticoagulant dose. DISCUSSION The ease-of-use of this technique lead us to believe that self-management is feasible and will represent an innovative advance that should have a substantial impact on the quality of life of this patients and their families as well as on the health care provision systems. TRIAL REGISTRATION Osakidetza Protocol Record ISCIII-11/02285, Oral anticoagulation and self-management, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01878539.