AIHEMAF - P "An Innovative Healthcare Model for AF Patients" No-profit Observational Study on the Role of the Community Pharmacist and "The Pharmacy of Services" in the Case Management of Patients Suffering From Atrial Fibrillation and Being Treated With New Generation Oral Anticoagulants

Atrial fibrillation is one of the most common cardiac arrhythmias, from which, in Italy, more than a million people are affected and estimates speak of an increase of up to 70% in the coming years. Due to its ability to increase the thrombo-embolic risk, the affected people are subjected to anticoagulant and antiarrhythmic pharmacological interventions in order to protect the patient from highly disabling events such as cerebral stroke or other arterial embolisms.

However, these pharmacological therapies require a dynamic approach over time, as the choice of active ingredients and the relative dosages depend on the patient's overall health status and for this reason it is important that he adheres to the monitoring plan, prepared by a specialist in cardiology, so that therapeutic appropriateness is always guaranteed.ù

In daily clinical practice, the follow-up activities, defined by the guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), consist in the evaluation of:

• General health status
• Bleeding events and related risk
• Therapeutic adherence
• Kidney function
• Drug interactions
• Control of heart rhythm and related symptoms
• Pathology progression

In the recent past, these activities were carried out solely and exclusively by the Specialist Doctor, as the only person authorized to prescribe the new oral anticoagulant drugs. Only recently, with the introduction of the AIFA 97 note, the General Practitioner was given the opportunity to prescribe these drugs to the patient suffering from Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation and to carry out the necessary monitoring. Consequently, the visit to the Specialist is reduced to once a year or whenever the General Practitioner deems it appropriate.