Effect of a primary care physician-focused, population-based approach to blood pressure control.
OBJECTIVE
A large majority of hypertensive patients are cared for in primary care settings, and most of them do not have adequately controlled blood pressure. AvMed Health Plan, a large Florida-based, nonprofit, physician network health maintenance organization, initiated a program to assist primary care physicians to achieve a greater degree of blood pressure control in their hypertensive patients. Concomitantly, a study was designed to determine whether this physician-focused intervention improved blood pressure control in these patients.


METHODS
Data were collected from pharmacy claims and medical charts for random samples of treated hypertensive patients prior to and following a 6-month educational intervention aimed at providers. Analysis of the data sets was conducted to determine what percentage of subjects achieved target blood pressure goals before and after the intervention.


RESULTS
At baseline, 41% of the total population had achieved a target blood pressure of <140/90 mm Hg; 52% achieved this goal following the intervention. When target blood pressure goals were defined as <140/90 mm Hg for nondiabetic subjects and < 130/85 mm Hg for diabetic subjects, 36% of the total population achieved target blood pressure goals at baseline; 47% achieved these goals following the intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
A physician-focused intervention significantly improved blood pressure control in diabetic and nondiabetic hypertensive patients enrolled in AvMed Health Plan.
Maue
Susan K
SK
Applied Health Outcomes, Tampa, FL 33609, USA. smaue@appliedoutcomes.com
Rivo
Marc L
ML
Weiss
Bruce
B
Farrelly
Eileen W
EW
Brower-Stenger
Sandra
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000145:classification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019468:Disease Management; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006279:Health Maintenance Organizations / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents