title: The use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring among Medicare beneficiaries in 2007-2010.
abstract: The US Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services reimburses ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) for suspected white coat hypertension. We estimated ABPM use between 2007 and 2010 among a 5% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries (≥65 years). In 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, the percentage of beneficiaries with ABPM claims was 0.10%, 0.11%, 0.10%, and 0.09%, respectively. A prior diagnosis of hypertension was more common among those with versus without an ABPM claim (77.7% vs. 47.0%). Among hypertensive beneficiaries, 95.2% of those with an ABPM claim were taking antihypertensive medication. Age 75-84 versus 65-74 years, having coronary heart disease, having chronic kidney disease, having multiple prior hypertension diagnoses, and having filled multiple classes of antihypertensive medication were associated with an increased odds for an ABPM claim among hypertensive beneficiaries. ABPM use was very low among Medicare beneficiaries and was not primarily used for diagnosing white coat hypertension in untreated individuals.
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: ds2231@cumc.columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Daichi
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shimbo
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Shia T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.affiliation: Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health, Department of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Keith M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Viera
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kilgore
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oparil
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muntner
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D059466:White Coat Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents
keywords: Hypertension; reimbursement claims; white coat hypertension