Since 2001, Cespharm has taken part in the Anti-vitamin K (AVK) working group of the Afssaps drug iatrogenicity committee. Among the missions of this working group are to heighten healthcare professionals’ (including physicians and pharmacists) awareness of the hemorrhagic risks of AVK treatment and to promote therapeutic education of patients.

The group’s work has resulted in:

• launch of awareness programs to prevent hemorrhagic risks of AVK treatment
• publication of good AVK practices, regularly updated
• development in 2004 of an information and monitoring notebook for AVK treated patients, printed by the pharmaceutical companies involved in AVK treatment
• a change in the summary of product characteristics of AVK medication which now recommends use of this notebook
• development of pharmacist and patient surveys on use and perception of the AVK treatment follow-up notebook
• publication in October 2008 of a new follow-up notebook. Updated and more easily readable, it now includes a detachable card that patients may keep with them to show that they take AVK treatment.

The Cespharm provides this information and monitoring notebook on request to pharmacists and biologists. Physicians are supplied with the notebook by the FFC (French Federation of Cardiology).

Poster displayed at the 65^th FIP congress in Cairo Egypt, September 2005.