Anticoagulant medications are considered among the highest-risk medications in common use, due to the potential for serious bleeding complications if medication errors occur. As a result, ensuring anticoagulant safety is one of the National Patient Safety Goals. This consensus statement provides guidelines for developing safer systems for the appropriate prescribing, administration, and monitoring of anticoagulant drugs in the hospital setting, as well as for minimizing adverse events after hospital discharge in patients receiving these medications. A serious medication error due to incorrect dosing of warfarin is discussed in an AHRQ WebM&M commentary.