If you are taking warfarin (Coumadin®) to prevent and treat blood clots, be aware that many factors, including taking other medications, diet and alcohol use, can affect your warfarin therapy.

That’s why patients taking warfarin must be monitored periodically with blood testing. Unlike most medications that are administered as a fixed dose, warfarin dosing is adjusted according to blood test results; therefore, the dose usually changes over time.

To help you, Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation provides an Anticoagulation Clinic at California Pacific Medical Center, located at 1100 Van Ness Ave, Level 6, San Francisco, CA 94109. Here we offer the monitoring you need to make sure you are being treated effectively and safely.

The Anticoagulation Clinic is staffed by nurse practitioner and a medical director.  Unlike laboratory visits, the clinic providers perform finger-stick blood tests to identify the level of warfarin in your body (the result is available in less than one minute), which is used to determine the appropriate warfarin dose for you.

Clinic staff also look for any changes in your medications and diet, as well as any side effects related to warfarin therapy. 

To become a part of the Anticoagulation Clinic, your doctor must send a referral to the clinic. You will be contacted as soon as an appointment is available. Initial visits usually last for 60 minutes and subsequent visits are approximately 15 minutes.

For more information, call us at (415) 600-2430. Your doctor can fax a referral to (415) 369-1293.