Pattern of oral anticoagulants prescribing for atrial fibrillation in general practice: a study based on routine practice data from general practices in the Netherlands.

12,516 AF patients were included. 476 patients (4%) started OAC in 2018; 12,040 patients were prevalent OAC users. When starting an OAC by GPs, DOACs were prescribed the most (88%). Among prevalent users, more than half of the patients used a VKA (60%). 1% of starters and 0.6% of prevalent users switched between OACs in 2018-2019 by a GP.Conclusion Dutch GPs predominantly start with DOACs in newly diagnosed AF patients. Prevalent patients predominantly use VKAs and switching from DOAC to a VKA is unusual. Consequently, the number of patients using VKAs will decline in the upcoming years. This trend raises questions about the future of organising frequent International Normalised Ratio (INR) checks for VKA users.