Pharmacist performs simple blood test

From the Windsor Star:
AWindsor pharmacist is making it easier for people who take blood thinning medication to have their blood tested and drug dosage adjusted -- all in about 15 minutes.

There are thousands of people in the community who take warfarin, a widely prescribed anticoagulant drug better known under the brand name Coumadin. Warfarin is used to treat patients with various types of blood clots, pulmonary embolisms, some heart conditions and other ailments. Those who take warfarin and other types of anticoagulants must have their blood regularly monitored to avoid serious complications, such as bleeding, because the medications alter the normal function of the body's blood clotting system.

Typically, patients must have their blood drawn in a lab, wait up to several days to get the results and then see their doctor for any necessary medication adjustments.

But Peter Dumo at the Novacare pharmacy on Walker Road can now do all that in just one appointment, thanks to a small device called CoaguChek XS, which looks and works much like a blood glucose meter. ...more