The Role of Telemedicine in Helping to Manage Hypertension - A Review of Health Outcomes and Cost Benefit

To assess what is known about the use of telemedicine in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension. Four electronic databases were searched for published randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing telemedicine and conventional interventions for hypertension in which the outcome measure used was one or more of: health outcome, proxy health outcome, patient compliance or cost. Studies identified were subjected to narrative review. Thirty three papers were identified reporting twenty RCTs. Of these, nine were suitable for inclusion. There is limited evidence that telemedicine can contribute to controlling hypertension in known patients. There is very limited evidence that it can contribute to confirming a suspected diagnosis of hypertension or to reducing healthcare costs. The use and evaluation of telemedicine in the diagnosis and management of hypertension is underdeveloped.