Dr Sawali and Dr Salama during the signing of the protocol.
An Anti-Coagulation Clinic - the first of its kind at the Hamad Medical Corporation - was officially opened at Al Wakra Hospital on Sunday.
The clinic will operate two days a week.
Managed by a clinical pharmacist specialised in cardiac conditions, the clinic will deal with heart disease patients who are prescribed anti-coagulant drugs by specialists at the Outpatient Clinic.
Anti-coagulant medications reduce blot clotting and are used for patients with a variety of conditions including heart problems and those at risk of strokes.
The medications need to be administered in a safe and secure environment by highly trained staff.
At the opening, there was a signing of a protocol specifying the role of specialists and clinical pharmacists in dealing with the patients visiting the clinic.
The protocol was signed by Cardiology section head Dr Izzaldin Sawali, who is also Al Wakra Hospital Outpatient Clinics director and Pharmacy Department director Dr Fathia Salama.
Dr Sawali said that the Anti-Coagulation Clinic will ensure that patients do not have to wait for their medications.
“The patients will spend no more than 15 minutes at the clinic where our specialist pharmacists will ensure they receive the correct and safe dose,” he added.
Dr Salama said the staff of the pharmacy will also counsel patients as to the correct way to take their medication as well as co-ordinating with their physicians about adjustments and other issues.
“The success of the Anti-Coagulation Clinic will act as a model for closer co-ordination between the physician and the pharmacist in treatment of other conditions,” Dr Fathia said.