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Remote physiologic monitoring for hypertension in primary care: a prospective pragmatic pilot study in electronic health records using propensity score matching.

Authors :
Petito LC
Anthony L
Peprah YA
Lee JY
Li J
Sato H
Persell SD
Source :
JAMIA open [JAMIA Open] 2023 Jan 31; Vol. 6 (1), pp. ooac111. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jan 31 (Print Publication: 2023).
Publication Year :
2023

Abstract

Objectives: Since 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services covers remote physiologic monitoring (RPM) for blood pressure (BP) per hypertension diagnosis and treatment guidelines. Here, we integrated Omron VitalSight RPM into the health system's electronic health record to transmit BP and pulse without manual entry, assessed feasibility, and used pragmatic prospective matched cohort studies to assess initial effects in (1) uncontrolled (last two office BP ≥140/90 mmHg) and (2) general (diagnosed hypertension or last office BP ≥140/90 mmHg) hypertension patient populations.<br />Materials and Methods: Seventeen clinicians at two internal medicine practices were oriented. Eligible patients were aged 65-85 years had Medicare insurance with ≥1 office visit in the previous year. We prospectively identified matched controls (age, sex, BP, and number of office visits in previous year) from other primary care practices within the health system and estimated the association between RPM availability (clinic-level) and patient BP outcomes after 6 months. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04604925.<br />Results: Feasibility. Uptake was low at pilot clinics: 10 physicians prescribed RPM to 118 patients during the 6-month pilot. This included 7% (14/207) of the prespecified uncontrolled hypertension cohort and 3.3% (78/2356) of the general hypertension cohort. Surveyed clinicians ( n  = 4) reported changing their patients' medical treatment in response to RPM BPs, although they recommended having a dedicated RN or LPN to review BP readings. Effectiveness. At 6 months, BP control was greater at pilot practices than among matched controls (uncontrolled: 31.4% vs 22.8%; P  = .007; general: 64.0% vs 59.7%; P  < .001). Systolic BP at last office visit did not differ (mean [SD] 146.0 [15.7] vs 147.1 [15.6]; P  = .48) in the uncontrolled population, and was lower in the general population (131.8 [15.7] vs 132.8 [15.9]; P  = .04).The frequency of antihypertensive medication changes was similar in both groups (uncontrolled P  = .986; general P  = .218).<br />Discussion and Conclusions: Uptake notwithstanding, RPM may have improved BP control. A potential mechanism is increased physician awareness of and attention to uncontrolled hypertension. Barriers to RPM use among physicians require further study.<br /> (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2574-2531
Volume :
6
Issue :
1
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
JAMIA open
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
36743315
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1093/jamiaopen/ooac111