That is according to a new study, which pointed out that two-thirds of patients had interacted with pharmacists who comanaged their BP via telehealth. The pharmacists often made medication adjustments and improved medication adherence, which was associated with greater improvement in BP and fewer hospitalizations.
The participants, who were receiving care in clinics specializing in kidney conditions, were able to get their blood pressure below 140/90 mmHG within 1 year, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2024 Scientific Sessions in Chicago.
For the study, the ConnectedCare365 Hypertension Management program provided patients in central and northeast Pennsylvania communities with remote BP monitoring and other devices that transmit information to doctors.
“In our study, we developed a program that builds off what others have done using telemonitoring and pharmacists,” said senior study author Alexander Chang, MD, MS, a nephrologist and associate professor in the Department of Nephrology and the Department of Population Health Sciences at Geisinger Health in Danville, Pennsylvania. “By deploying these extra resources to get blood pressure under control in high-risk patients and reducing hospitalizations, we are hoping that we can help provide more justification in expanding these types of programs.”
During the first 6 months of the program, the notifications were first transmitted to physicians in collaboration with pharmacists through a virtual platform that connected to patients’ phones, but during the second 6 months, the notifications were transmitted first to pharmacists who comanaged BP through a collaborative telehealth practice agreement.
Study results are that:
• 67% of patients were able to achieve BP control of <140/90 mmHg at 6 months, and 74% of patients were able to achieve BP control by 12 months
• Systolic BP was lowered by an average of 3.3 mmHg/month for those with initial BP readings greater than 150/90 mmHg; lowered by 2.4 mmHg/month for those with initial readings in the range of 140-149/90-99 mmHg; and lowered by 0.6 mmHg/month for those with initial readings lower than 140/90 mmHg
• Pharmacist telehealth encounters, in which the patients talked directly with pharmacists about hypertension management, were documented in 65% of patients, and pharmacist interactions were associated with a 1.3-mmHg/month decline in systolic BP over time
• During the 12-month study period, 46% of patients had a BP medication adjustment, and 37% were prescribed new BP medication
• Patients experienced fewer hospitalizations during the study period compared with the previous 12 months; however, there was no difference in the number of reported emergency department visits.
“We know that home blood pressure monitoring can be done by patients accurately and can really help engage patients in their own health,” Dr. Chang said in a press release. “However, we also know that these self-measured blood pressure readings often do not make it back to patients’ healthcare team, therefore delays in adjusting medications are very common. This type of physician-pharmacist collaborative model with home blood pressure monitoring that is centrally received and monitored by the care team can help address these issues.”
The 205 participants in the study had an average age of 62 years, with 48% women.
Most (87%) were non-Hispanic white, and 53% had a diagnosis of chronic kidney disease at the time of enrollment. The study tracked the results for up to 6 to 12 months between March 2022 and May 2024.
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