The benefits of pharmacist-delivered warfarin education in the home

Objectives Good warfarin knowledge is important for optimal patient outcomes, but barriers exist to effective education and warfarin knowledge is often poor. This study aimed to explore the educational outcomes of home‐based warfarin education provided by trained pharmacists. Methods In a prospective, non‐randomised, controlled cohort trial, patients received either usual community‐based post‐discharge care or a post‐discharge warfarin management service, including warfarin education by trained pharmacists during two or three home visits. Patients’ warfarin knowledge was assessed at 8 and 90 days post‐discharge using the Oral Anticoagulation Knowledge test. Key findings One hundred and thirty‐nine patients were recruited into the usual care group between November 2008 and August 2009, and 129 into the intervention group between May and December 2009. Pharmacist‐delivered warfarin education was associated with a significant difference between the intervention patients’ baseline and day 8 mean warfarin knowledge scores of 64.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 61.0–68.5%) and 78.0% (95% CI 74.5–81.5%; P