Anticoagulants are one of the classes of medicines most frequently identified as causing preventable harm and admission to hospital.
The National Reporting and Learning Service (NRLS) issued a Patient Safety Alert advises healthcare organisations to take steps to manage the risks associated with the
prescribing,
dispensing and
administering of
anticoagulants.
Healthcare organisations must ensure that staff who prescribe, adjust the dosage, dispense, prepare, administer, monitor and discharge patients on anticoagulant therapy have received adequate training to ensure they have the necessary work competences to undertake their duties safely.
E-learning on the BMJ website
The NRLS has commissioned e-learning modules on initiating and maintaining anticoagulant therapy:
The NRLS has also developed a series of work competences, which are listed below.
See also:
