Supporting your patients treated
with Pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate)
Patient support materials (UK)
Educating patients on the need for oral anticoagulation therapy and the importance of strict adherence is vital. A range of materials* are available to support your patients receiving Pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate). Please note that these materials are currently approved for UK use only. These materials may aid your patients’ treatment adherence and include:
Pradaxa patient alert card
The Pradaxa patient alert card informs other healthcare professionals that your patient is receiving anticoagulation therapy with Pradaxa. Every patient prescribed Pradaxa will receive a patient alert card in each pack of Pradaxa. As the card contains important information, please ask your patients to keep their Pradaxa patient alert card with them at all times and present it when seeing a healthcare professional.
Pradaxa patient support booklet (SPAF)
The patient support booklet provides patients with detailed information on what Pradaxa is, why they have been prescribed Pradaxa and how it works. It also contains information on how to take their medicine, what to do if they miss a dose or accidentally take a double dose, and when to seek medical help.
Pradaxa patient starter card (SPAF)
This is a condensed version of the patient support booklet, providing busy patients with a quick reference guide to taking Pradaxa.
Pradaxa blister case
The reusable blister case is designed to aid medication adherence. It reminds patients to take one capsule in the morning and one in the evening, every day.
The blister case also assists patients when removing the capsules from the foil blister strip – when the patient presses the case for their next dose the ridged aluminium foil is punctured making it easier to remove the capsule.
Discussing anticoagulation
with your patients
When faced with starting anticoagulation therapy, many patients prefer to actively participate in the decision-making process with a healthcare professional.1 NICE and the ESC recommend shared decision-making, with patients having a central role in their care, in order to tailor management to patient preferences and improve adherence to long-term therapy.1,2 You may wish to use the NICE Patient Decision Aid3 to facilitate the discussion.
It’s important to discuss the benefits and risks of anticoagulation and offer your patients with NVAF a personalised package of care in order to help ensure the choice of oral anticoagulant is right for them, and to
address any questions or potential concerns they may have about their treatment. Discussing their condition and the importance of anticoagulation with your patients may also improve adherence to oral anticoagulation therapy, thereby helping to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with NVAF.4
A discussion aid tool is available to support your conversations with your patients regarding their treatment options for stroke prevention in NVAF. This can be accessed via the link below, or printed versions can be ordered free of charge using the details above.
Patients want to know about reversal
One of the questions patients most often want to discuss when
deciding which anticoagulant to choose is:
"What happens if the effects need to be reversed in an emergency?”4
Both you and your patients can have peace of mind in knowing that the effects of Pradaxa® can be immediately and completely reversed should your patient have an accident or severe bleeding, or require emergency surgery or an urgent procedure.
Indeed, Pradaxa® is the only non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant with a specific reversal agent, Praxbind®, for emergency surgery/urgent procedures and life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding.5,6
ESC — European Society of Cardiology
NICE — National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
NVAF — non-valvular atrial fibrillation
SPAF — stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation
- NICE Clinical Guideline (CG180): Atrial fibrillation: management. Published June 2014
- Kirchhof P, et al. Eur Heart J 2016;37;2893–2962.
- NICE Clinical Guideline (CG180): Patient Decision Aid. Published June 2014
- Garkina SV, et al. J Geriatr Cardiol. 2016;13(9):807–810.
- Praxbind® Summary of Product Characteristics.
- Pollack CV, et al. N Engl J Med 2017;377(5):431–441.