Study: Blood pressure management better with home, pharmacy intervention

A new study shows that aggressive management of hypertension can help more patients maintain proper control of their blood pressure.

According to the study, patients had better success keeping their blood pressure in check if they used a combination of home and pharmacy interventions, rather than relying on routine office visits to manage their condition.

The Minnesota research found that 57 percent of patients who used a combination of telemonitoring and pharmacist oversight kept their blood pressure in check, compared to just 30 percent of patients who received standard clinic care.

"Engaging the patient while they're at home, talking to them on the phone, doing much more frequent adjustments of their treatment, I think these are things that have been shown by us and by others to work, said Dr. Karen Margolis with HealthPartners Institute for Education and Research in Minneapolis. "And we need to figure out now how to remove the barriers to doing care this way."

The staffing and equipment used in the study costs around $1,350 per patient. Margolis says her team will begin a new study this fall to see if the approach has long-term benefits and is cost-effective.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

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