Patient satisfaction with point-of-care international normalized ratio testing and counseling in a community internal medicine practice.

Point-of-care international normalized ratio (POC INR) testing is increasingly used to monitor anticoagulant therapy. This study assessed patient satisfaction with registered nurse--managed POC INR testing in a primary care internal medicine practice. One hundred eighty-seven of the first 216 (87%) patients using the program responded to the survey. The respondents were surveyed for satisfaction after they had experienced the nurse-managed POC INR system at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, for one month. Eighty-eight percent of patients indicated that they were very satisfied or satisfied with the POC INR system. The authors conclude that nurse-managed POC INR testing is quick, convenient, less painful, and more satisfying for patients compared with traditional venipuncture and telephone follow-up.