Some blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin (Coumadin®), require careful monitoring. Doses are adjusted based on your response to the medication, so it’s important that dose-response monitoring and adjustment be done by experts.

The Anticoagulation Clinic will review your warfarin (Coumadin) use, monitor your response to the dosage and watch for any conflicts or negative side effects.

Anticoagulation Testing Options

To manage your warfarin or anticoagulation medication dosage, regular testing is essential. Our Anticoagulation Service provides convenient locations for testing appointments.

  • Face-to-face visit. We have five clinic locations where you can sit down with a clinical pharmacist or nurse for a dedicated visit about your medication regimen. During your appointment, you will get immediate INR blood test results using a finger stick test. If your warfarin dose needs adjusting, our pharmacists and nurses can do it right away before you leave. Most visits take less than 15 minutes. Our staff also manages and teaches patients who need injectable anticoagulants how to self-inject their medication.
  • Laboratory visits. Visit a Froedtert & MCW laboratory for an INR blood draw. When the result is available, a pharmacist or nurse will call to provide instructions for warfarin management. To find a lab near you, click Locations select “Lab” in Location Type.
  • Self-Testing at Home. Patients who are eligible for home INR testing will receive education on how to utilize a meter to complete the finger stick testing at home every two weeks or more often. Patients will be responsible for calling in the INR results. After the result has been reported, a pharmacist or nurse will call to provide instructions for warfarin management. Ask your provider at your next appointment if this option is right for you.

To learn more about anticoagulation services or schedule an appointment, call 414-805-6575, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Patients are responsible for the co-pay for any testing or visit.

Medication Therapy Management

It's important that you understand your medication regimen — what medications you're on, how they interact, the possible side effects and how to tell if they are working effectively.

Medication Therapy Management gives you the chance to meet one-on-one with a pharmacist to review and discuss your medications. Our pharmacists can answer your questions, including whether you are on the most cost-effective medications and when is the best time of day to take each one.  

Anemia Management Program

Anemia develops when your blood lacks enough healthy red blood cells or hemoglobin — the substances that transport oxygen to your body. Symptoms of anemia, such as fatigue, foggy thinking or shortness of breath, occur because organs are not getting enough oxygen to function properly. Treating anemia is important to avoid the need for a blood transfusion, which may be required when hemoglobin levels are too low.

Our Anemia Management Program provides care for patients who are in need of anemia drug therapy, as serious health problems can occur if your hemoglobin level goes too high or goes up too quickly.

Your trained pharmacist manages your specific anemia therapy, whether you require erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) to help stimulate the formation and production of red blood cells or if you require iron therapy to help make healthy red blood cells. If you need injectable medications to treat anemia, a clinical pharmacist can provide them, or you may want to learn to safely inject your medication at home. Your preference and insurance will help determine if the injection will be given in the clinic or at home.

It is important to have hemoglobin levels monitored closely with simple blood tests. Our pharmacists provide point-of-care testing, allowing you to get immediate results and, if needed, anemia therapy can be adjusted. It can often be done during the appointment.

The Anemia Clinic is located on the first floor of the Specialty Clinics building on the Froedtert Hospital campus. We are conveniently located next to the pharmacy with valet parking services available.

Once you and your physician decide the Anemia Management Program is the right care for you, we will contact you to schedule an appointment. Most appointments only take 20 – 30 minutes. The pharmacy team will also assist you with getting anemia therapy covered by insurers.

Things to Know About Anemia booklet

Coordinated Care

Your pharmacist will coordinate care with your physicians, treatment teams and clinics to make sure that everyone is on the same page and to ensure you receive the highest quality anticoagulation and anemia management. All pharmacists are part of the Froedtert Pharmacy team.

Locations

Once you and your physician decide to use our clinic, we will contact you to schedule an initial appointment. 

Clinic hours vary, but we are available by phone at 414-805-6575, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Anticoagulation Center of Excellence

The Froedtert Health Anticoagulation Clinic passed the Anticoagulation Forum assessment program and earned the designation as an Anticoagulation Center of Excellence. The rigorous assessment gave us the chance to measure our practice against five key areas of patient care. The program provides ongoing access to a rich library of resources with guidelines and tools to keep up with the changing field of anticoagulation.

The Anticoagulation Forum is a multidisciplinary nonprofit organization with a mission to improve the quality of care for patients taking antithrombotic medications.