02-07-2014
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts® initiative recognized Dr. Nilesh V. Patel, from Audubon, PA, as one of nine Champions of the 2013 Hypertension Control Challenge for success in achieving excellent rates of high blood pressure control.
Nearly 1 in 3 American adults has hypertension, also known as high blood pressure. Fewer than half of those have it under control and are at risk of having a heart attack or stroke, two of the leading causes of death and disability for Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 31.4 percent of adults in Pennsylvania suffer from hypertension, ranking PA twentieth in the nation for its hypertension rate.
Dr. Patel was recognized for using his electronic health record (EHR) system to identify, treat and recall hypertensive patients as well as schedule follow-up appointments with them in a focused effort to help control their high blood pressure. “Using the EHR on this effort was the best path to take to help my team more efficiently provide targeted care and education to our hypertensive patients,” said Dr. Patel.
Dr. Patel has been working closely with the Pennsylvania Regional Extension & Assistance Center for Health IT (PA REACH) over the past few years to adopt, implement and meaningfully use his EHR system.
The Hypertension Control Champions, representing small and large, urban and rural, and private and federal health practices and systems achieved control rates ranging from 73 percent to more than 90 percent by using a variety of approaches. Following are some of these approaches:
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Making high blood pressure control a priority on every visit;
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Using evidence-based guidelines;
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Working as a team - physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, care coordinators, patients - to achieve blood pressure control;
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Using health information technology to track blood pressure readings over time, cue team members to talk about blood pressures with patients, and adjust medications in a timely way to safely achieve control;
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Staying engaged with patients by offering free blood pressure checks, in-home nurse visits and medication checks by pharmacists; and
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Publicly recognizing or using financial incentives to reward high performing clinicians or teams.
“These practices have set up systems that work for patients and for providers. They use evidence-based guidelines and protocols, team-based care, electronic reminders to track patients’ progress, and recognize high-performing staff,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “By following their lead, we can help millions more Americans with high blood pressure get control. Controlling blood pressure saves lives and prevents disability from avoidable heart attacks and strokes.”