Nurse management of hypertension clinics in general practice assisted by a computer.
In this study 377 patients with hypertension from four general practices were referred to a nurse for care. A management protocol was agreed by all participating doctors and programmed into a microcomputer. Three practices representing approximately 80% of the total patients had a computer-assisted care programme and there is no evidence that this improved their care. Three-quarters of the patients had reached their target diastolic blood pressure by the end of the study compared with 50% at the beginning. The proportion of patients with normal weights for their heights increased, and almost one-fifth of those patients who admitted to smoking at the onset subsequently stated that they had stopped. Patients and doctors were satisfied with the system.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001835:Body Weight; D003201:Computers; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D008297:Male; D008838:Microcomputers; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010352:Patient Dropouts; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents