Non‐medical predictors of quality of care of hypertension in elderly patients

Describes a study designed to develop instruments for examining the quality of routine care of hypertension among the elderly and, using non-medical predictors of quality--such as elderly patient and doctor variables and doctor-patient interaction variables--to explain the variance in the quality of care. The study population comprised 352 elderly people (92 per cent) in one Jerusalem neighborhood who were members of Israel's largest sick fund. Interviews, screening, observation and examination of records were the sources of information. Multivariate analysis was performed. The findings indicated a plethora of deficiencies in the quality of routine care, mostly in the quality of surveillance and the control of hypertension. It was found that the outcome of care is primarily a result of the physician-patient interaction, rather than of a lack of patient compliance. Proposes a national programme using the instruments developed.