The effect of an interactive voice response system on communication of medication and appointment information to patients taking oral anticoagulants

Abstract

Introduction. An interactive voice response system (IVRS) may facilitate communication of medication information to patients taking oral anticoagulants (OAC). Objective. To evaluate an IVRS for OAC management using a health technology assessment framework. Design. Quasi-experimental study at the Ottawa Hospital Thrombosis Clinic. Patients. Patients who had completed 3 months of warfarin therapy, had stable anticoagulation control, and spoke English were enrolled and followed for a minimum of 3 months. Methods. Patients received their international normalized ratio result, dosage schedule, and date of their next blood test from the IVRS. The IVRS also notified patients of upcoming and missed appointments. Results. 226 patients were prospectively followed for a mean of 4.2 months. Patients' anticoagulation control during the post-intervention period (80.3%; 95% CI 77.5-83.1) was noninferior to their anticoagulation control during the pre-intervention period (79.9%; 95% CI 77.3-82.6). 77.4% of patients continued using the IVRS after the study. 78% of the scheduled dosage messages were successfully delivered by the IVRS and did not require further input from clinic staff. The IVRS resulted in a minor reduction in the workload of Clinic staff. Conclusion. An IVRS was a feasible and effective method of communicating medication information in this population of OAC patients. Future work is required to determine the generalizability of these results.