Mark Crowther, MD

Ann Wittkowsky, PharmD

The 13th National Conference of Anticoagulant Therapy sponsored by the Anticoagulation Forum (AC Forum) was held in Washington, DC on April 23–25, 2015. The AC Forum conference welcomed over 900 attendees, allowing them an opportunity to network and learn among professional colleagues with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of thrombotic disorders. With the ever-changing landscape of anticoagulant therapy in mind, this worthwhile conference allowed participants to get access to the most current evidence-based research on drug therapies and experience an outstanding roster of international expert speakers, whose presentations are published in these proceedings.

Members were also given the opportunity to present abstracts of original research. In total, 48 abstracts were presented and they are also published in this issue of the Journal of Thrombosis and Thrombolysis.

Our 13th National Conference offered new and innovative “Master Classes”, designed to allow small groups to gain a more in-depth focus on both patient care and issues vital to running a practice. Attendees chose from subjects like Fundamentals of Billing, Creating a Bridge Plan, Diagnosis of HIT, Practice Aspects of Thrombophilia or joined an EPIC users group to learn from colleagues about how best to integrate the EMR.

The 3-day conference gave all attendees a chance to explore cutting edge issues of anticoagulation care including the future of anticoagulation management, the ongoing importance of TSOACs, and quality improvement as it pertains to patient safety. Emphasis on disease state and patient engagement were utilized at the conference as a context for learning as were fundamentals such as exploration of referrals, best practices in transitions of care, and regulatory issues as they pertain to running a practice.

The Anticoagulation Forum is a multidisciplinary non-profit organization working to improve the quality of care for patients taking antithrombotic medications. The AC Forum strives to provide education and networking opportunities for healthcare professionals, promoting the clinical application of evidence-based practice, facilitating research aimed at improving health outcomes, and informing healthcare policy, regulatory agencies, and industry about best practices. The AC Forum has over 6000 members and represents over 2000 anticoagulation services.

In an effort to advance our mission of providing education and improving patient care, the AC Forum continues to expand the Anticoagulation Centers of Excellence, excellence.acforum.org. The site provides the opportunities for both in and outpatient anticoagulation services to gain support and information for improving their practice. The self-assessment offers a rigorous set of standards in five key areas of patient care which any practice can take and achieve recognition as a Center of Excellence. The robust library of anticoagulation resources includes policies, procedures, guidelines, and toolkits that practices can use as a basis to craft their own protocols. The Examples of Excellence section gives practices a chance to profile unique programs and tools that their practice has developed in an effort to share their experience with colleagues who might want to mirror these programs.

In addition to the Anticoagulation Centers of Excellence program, the AC Forum offers free monthly webinar programs, a newsletter, grand rounds programs, and other educational opportunities including a regional Anticoagulation Boot Camp intensive 2-day workshop. Please visit www.acforum.org for more information.