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According to recent guidelines, 46% of U.S. adults have high blood pressure (i.e., hypertension). Traditionally addressed in clinical settings, only 54% of adults successfully manage their hypertension. Community–clinical partnerships that facilitate medication adherence and lifestyle changes are promising avenues to achieve population-level blood pressure control. We examined partnerships for blood pressure control in Washington State, their facilitators and barriers, and ways public health departments could foster partnerships. We conducted 41 semistructured interviews with clinic staff, community-based organization (CBO) staff, pharmacy staff, and community health workers (CHWs). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–adapted Himmelman Collaboration Continuum, which describes five levels of partnership intensity, guided our thematic analysis. We found variation across sectors in partnership frequency and intensity. Clinic and pharmacy staff reported fewer partnerships than CBO staff and CHWs, and mostly either low or very high intensity partnerships. CBO staff and CHWs described partnerships at each intensity level. Trust and having a shared mission facilitated partnerships. Competition, lack of time, limited awareness of resources, and lack of shared health records constituted barriers to partnership. Bringing potential partners together to discuss shared goals, increasing technological integration, and building awareness of resources may help bridge clinical and community silos and improve population-level blood pressure control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Patients with a substance use disorder (SUD) often present with co-occurring chronic conditions in primary care. Despite the high co-occurrence of chronic medical conditions and SUD, little is known about whether chronic condition outcomes or related service utilization in primary care varies between patients with versus without documented SUDs. This study examined whether having a SUD influenced the use of primary care services and common chronic condition outcomes for patients with diabetes, hypertension, and obesity.Methods: A longitudinal cohort observational study examined electronic health record data from 21 primary care clinics in Washington and Idaho to examine differences in service utilization and clinical outcomes for diabetes, hypertension, and obesity in patients with and without a documented SUD diagnosis. Differences between patients with and without documented SUD diagnoses were compared over a three-year window for clinical outcome measures, including hemoglobin A1c, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and body mass index, as well as service outcome measures, including number of encounters with primary care and co-located behavioral health providers, and orders for prescription opioids. Adult patients (N = 10,175) diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension, or obesity before the end of 2014, and who had ≥2 visits across a three-year window including at least one visit in 2014 (baseline) and at least one visit occurring 12 months or longer after the 2014 visit (follow-up) were examined.Results: Patients with SUD diagnoses and co-occurring chronic conditions were seen by providers more frequently than patients without SUD diagnoses (p's < 0.05), and patients with SUD diagnoses were more likely to be prescribed opioid medications. Chronic condition outcomes were no different for patients with versus without SUD diagnoses.Discussion: Despite the higher visit rates to providers in primary care, a majority of patients with SUD diagnoses and chronic medical conditions in primary care did not get seen by co-located behavioral health providers, who can potentially provide and support evidence informed care for both SUD and chronic conditions. Patients with chronic medical conditions also were more likely to get prescribed opioids if they had an SUD diagnosis. Care pathway innovations for SUDs that include greater utilization of evidence-informed co-treatment of SUDs and chronic conditions within primary care settings may be necessary for improving care overall for patients with comorbid SUDs and chronic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]