Despite recommended guidelines for treating high blood pressure, there is a lack of information about what is the optimal period between physician visits. There is also a shortage of primary care physicians in the United States at a time when more people are living longer and need more support in managing multiple chronic medical conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, researchers said.  

"It is practically impossible to implement all care recommended by the guidelines in the time that the primary care physician has available," said Turchin who is also senior medical informatician at Partners HealthCare System.

The researchers suggest that, for diabetic patients, decreasing the time between physician and patient encounters could shorten the time needed to lower their high blood pressure.

"Both the physicians and the patients with elevated blood pressure should take steps towards more frequent communication ” whether face-to-face or otherwise," Turchin said.

He said patients could measure their blood pressure at home and report to their physicians; physicians should encourage them to do so and also see them more frequently when needed. Telemedicine ” communication through e-mail, telephone, fax or Internet-based tools ” could also be helpful. Another approach could be to enlist help from non-physician providers, such as physician assistants, nurse practitioners and clinical pharmacists.

"More frequent visits could also impose higher co-payment costs on the patients but these again could be mitigated by utilizing telemedicine and/or non-physician providers," Turchin said.

Turchin and his team are studying whether educational interventions can encourage busy primary care physicians to see patients with high blood pressure more frequently and whether lifestyle counseling ” such as promoting a healthy diet and exercise ” could be combined with medical management to help treat blood pressure.

SOURCE American Heart Association