AHSN announced as a winner for this year's AF Association Healthcare Pioneers Award

27 October 2017

Wessex AHSN has been announced as one of the AF Association Healthcare Pioneers 2018 – 'Showcasing Best Practice in AF' winners for our 'Starting Anticoagulation with Jack' and pharmacists' anticoagulation education project work.

The awards are given to two case studies (downloadable below) which will be shared from now, and throughout 2018, via the AF Association's considerable networks.

AF or atrial fibrillation is the most common arrhythmia (heart rhythm disorder) affecting more than 16 million people around the world.

Every 15 seconds someone suffers an AF-related stroke, yet most can be prevented using appropriate anticoagulation therapy. As a UK registered charity (non-profit), AF Association focuses on raising awareness of AF by providing information and support materials for patients and medical professionals involved in detecting, diagnosing and managing AF.

Anticoagulant medicines are prescribed for a wide variety of reasons, and are complex medicines. Connecting patients with information to help them understand the medicines, and take them effectively, is the basis of our 'Jack' project.

Starting Anticoagulation with Jack is a short video explaining why anticoagulants are needed and giving information about them. You can watch Jack's story below, or go here for more information. Overall information about the AHSN's work to tackle AF can be found here.

Trudie Lobban MBE, Founder and CEO of AF Association congratulated the 2018 Award winners, saying: “AF Association Healthcare Pioneers Award, is presented to examples of truly innovative best practice covering identification, diagnosis, management, treatment and care of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), which we summarise as Detect, Protect, Correct and Perfect.

"We share the published AF Association Healthcare Pioneers Report with clinicians, commissioners and policy makers across the globe asking them to use these case studies as a benchmark to drive improvement in processes and patient pathways for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of AF patients in their respective countries.

“Now in its third year, we had the highest number of entries to date, and all were of an excellent standard, demonstrating tremendous innovation to improve the lives of AF patients. We thank everyone who entered, and especially commend those chosen as this year’s AF Association Healthcare Pioneers Award winners,” she added.

Vicki Rowse, senior programme manager at the AHSN, said: "Patients can view Jack as many times as they want, and share it with their family and friends. We are also providing education for pharmacists and GPs, and signposting patients to their local pharmacy with special information cards, so patients know where they can get information and support if they have any questions about their anticoagulant medicines.