Factors associated with availability of anticoagulation reversal agents in rural and community emergency departments.

Purpose: Results of a study of anticoagulation reversal agent availability in rural and community hospital emergency departments (EDs) are reported.

Methods: A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted to test the hypothesis that anticoagulation reversal agents are not commonly stocked in low-volume EDs. In phase 1 of the study, a physician, pharmacist, or nurse manager at a sample of EDs in 1 state was surveyed to characterize anticoagulation reversal agent availability and the presence or absence of reversal protocols; in phase 2, follow-up qualitative interviews were conducted with hospital pharmacists selected by purposive sampling to identify barriers to availability.