Key result
Remote non-physician hypertension management achieves BP control in ~81% of patients within seven weeks.
Why the study?
Hypertension remains poorly controlled on the population level, necessitating innovative management programs to maximize efficiency and optimize control amidst tighter BP targets and rising healthcare costs.
Does a remote, non-physician led hypertension management program improve blood pressure control in patients with clinic BP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg?
Cohort (n=130)
Does a remote, non-physician led hypertension management program improve blood pressure control in patients with clinic BP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg?
A remote, non-physician led hypertension management program using home BP monitoring and algorithmic care pathways rapidly and effectively achieves blood pressure control.
May support rapid remote BP control; hypothesis-generating and requires RCTs before practice change.
BACKGROUND: Hypertension remains poorly controlled on the population level. National rates of control, even when defined leniently by BP < 140/90 mm Hg, are only ~50%. As growing healthcare costs coincide with tighter blood pressure (BP) targets, innovative management programs are needed to maximize efficiency of care delivery and optimize control. HYPOTHESIS: We aimed to develop a remote, navigator-led hypertension innovation program that would leverage algorithmic care pathways, home BP measurements and patient coaching to allow rapid and complete medication titration. METHODS: A multidisciplinary group of clinical experts from subspecialties and primary care collaborated to develop an evidence-based clinical algorithm, designed to be automated and administered by non-licensed patient navigators. In the development stage, a prospective pilot cohort of 130 patients was managed by nurse practitioners and pharmacists to ensure efficacy and safety. Patients with clinic BP ≥ 140/90 mm Hg were enrolled and given a Bluetooth-enabled BP device. Home BPs were transmitted automatically into the electronic medical record. Medication titrations were performed by phone at biweekly intervals, based upon weekly average BP, until home BP was controlled at <135/85 mm Hg. RESULTS: Eighty-one percent of all enrolled, and 91% of those patients who regularly measured home BP achieved goal, in an average of 7 weeks. Control was reached similarly across races, genders, and ages. CONCLUSIONS: A home-based BP control program run by non-physicians can provide efficient, effective and rapid control, suggesting an innovative paradigm for hypertension management. This program is effective, sustainable, adaptable, and scalable to fit current and emerging national systems of healthcare.
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Fisher et al. (2018) conducted a cohort in Hypertension (n=130). Remote, non-physician led hypertension management program was evaluated on Home BP controlled at <135/85 mm Hg. A remote, non-physician led hypertension management program using home BP monitoring achieved blood pressure control (<135/85 mm Hg) in 81% of enrolled patients in an average of 7 weeks.
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