Personal health care and the new media in anticoagulant treatment.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of a more personal anticoagulant treatment follow-up routine involving the use of a personal measurement device along with the new media (e.g. the Internet).

Design: A telephone interview.

Setting: The municipality of Ikaalinen with a total population of 7795.

Subjects: Forty patients on anticoagulant treatment who have personal responsibility for their treatment follow-up.

Main Outcome Measures: Demographic data, data and opinions on anticoagulant treatment and data and opinions on personal health care and the new media.

Results: More than two-thirds of the interviewed were generally pleased with the current AC treatment routine in the Ikaalinen area. Sixty-eight percent of the patients feel that they are able to determine the anticoagulant dosage from the follow-up test results and almost a third have independently changed their dosage. Approximately half of the interviewed were willing to take various health-related measurements at home, but approximately only 20% of the interviewed were ready to use health-related services; for example, related to the follow-up of anticoagulant treatment, through the new media.

Conclusion: Part of the population receiving anticoagulant treatment is ready to move to a more personal treatment routine involving home measurements in follow-up tests. However, most interviewed patients were not interested in using the new media as part of the new routine.