Doha, Qatar: Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) launched a new service for patients of the Anticoagulation Clinic affiliated with the Cardiology Department and Pharmacy at Al-Wakra Hospital. The clinic will now conduct coagulation test for patients in their private cars without the need to enter the hospital and go through different procedures until they receive their medications.

The Anticoagulation Clinic at Al-Wakra Hospital, is the first of its kind in the region, where the follow-up of patients are carried out by a clinical pharmacist under the supervision of a cardiologist.

HMC confirmed that this measure is in line with other steps taken to limit the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19).

Dr. Sabah Adnan Al-Qadi, Medical Director of Al Wakra Hospital, said in a press statement that the launch of this innovative service is part of the measures taken by Al-Wakra Hospital to counter coronavirus and was implemented in other medical departments to reduce visits to the hospital while maintaining the quality of treatment provided.

He added that Al Wakra Hospital continues to provide medical consulting services by phone to outpatient clinics, as residents of the southern part of the country, which is experiencing remarkable population growth, are benefiting from its services and treatment programs.

For his part, Dr. Izz Al-Din Hamzah Sawali, the head of the Cardiology Department at Al-Wakra Hospital and the medical supervisor of the Anticoagulation Clinic, said that many patients are concerned when they go to the hospitals under the current conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

He pointed out that the majority of patients at the clinic are from the cardiac and internal medicine departments, who suffer from chronic diseases, and the elderly, adding that it was logical to search for a safer way to protect them from the infection, as providing them with prescription for anticoagulants, especially Warfarin, requires coagulation tests for unstable cases, as this is done through periodic examination on the basis of which the appropriate dose of the drug is determined.

On the new method of conducting tests for patients in cars, Dr. Sawali explained that the clinic is calling the patient before the appointment to inform him of the time of attendance, where he will remain in his car in the parking area at Al-Wakra Hospital; a nurse from the clinic will go to the patient to perform the test, while wearing protective clothes. The result of the tests will appear at the same time.

For his part, Dr. Osama Abdelsamad, the clinical pharmacist who supervises the treatment of patients at the clinic, stated that after reading the results of the examination, the pharmacist communicates with the patient over the phone to collect the necessary information, such as inquires about eating habit changes and medication that would interfere with the treatment of Warfarin and any side effects that the patient may suffer from. Afterward, he added, the pharmacist determines the appropriate dose in agreement with the supervising physician and informs the patient about this by phone on the same day the medications are delivered to their house through the medicine delivery service provided by the Pharmacy Department at HMC.

In turn, Assistant Director of Pharmacy of Clinical Pharmacy Department at Al-Wakra Hospital Dr. Eman Al Hamoud said that this innovative protocol has been applied in a number of hospitals in the United States of America as part of preventive measures to combat coronavirus (Covid-19), and thus this procedure was applied in Al-Wakra Hospital to ensure the safety of patients and the quality of services provided to them.

The Clinic receives about 200 patients per month, about 70 percent of whom are of a history that includes surgeries in the past, chronic diseases or are classified under the elderly category which requires taking all necessary measures to protect them from the infection.

Applying the new procedures of the coagulation test of the patient while in his private car can largely protect these patients from the potential risk of infection with coronavirus.

SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR