Warfarin care clinic

What is Warfarin?

Warfarin is a medicine used to treat or prevent blood clots. It is a type of blood-thinning medicine known as an anticoagulant (anti-clotting) and is taken in tablet form, once per day. There are many things that can affect how Warfarin works on each person, therefore if you are taking warfarin you will need to be closely monitored to make sure you are taking just the right amount.

Your usual treating doctor or your hospital doctor may have enrolled you in the our pathology Warfarin Care Clinic so that we can monitor your blood and keep your Warfarin dosage at a safe level. Patients cannot self-register because we require a detailed medical history. You will need to speak with your doctor about enrolling in the Warfarin Care Clinic.

The Warfarin Care Clinic is not funded by Medicare or any other funding source, therefore we require your full cooperation to make this service run efficiently and effectively. Your responsibilities are laid out in the Warfarin Care Clinic Charter. You will be provided with a copy of the charter when your doctor registers you and you will need to return the Charter Acceptance Form in order to complete your registration.

Blood test and Warfarin

Your blood test result is referred to as an INR (International Normalised Ratio). This is a measure of the time it takes for your blood to clot. The higher the INR, the thinner the blood and the less warfarin you need. The lower the INR the more likely it is that you will develop a clot, so you may need more warfarin. Your warfarin levels need to be in the right range for your individual set of circumstances.