HBPM means patients check their blood pressure at home or outside of the doctor’s office using approved blood pressure devices. This way, blood pressure can be checked more often than just during doctor visits. It helps give a clearer picture of how a patient’s blood pressure is doing. HBPM helps patients get more involved, know more about their condition, and manage their blood pressure better.
A big review of studies showed that using HBPM along with telemonitoring lowered the top number of blood pressure (systolic) by an average of 4.7 mmHg compared to usual care. Even small drops in blood pressure can lower the chance of heart problems. The review also showed a 3.5 mmHg fall in average blood pressure over 24 hours when using telemonitoring with HBPM.
Telemonitoring uses devices and communication tools to send patients’ blood pressure readings to doctors from a distance. This lets doctors watch patients’ blood pressure closely, spot any problems early, and change treatment quickly if needed.
Telemonitoring helps doctors and patients stay connected between visits. It also helps patients take their medicines and follow lifestyle advice better. Doctors can react faster if blood pressure readings are off, which might stop serious health problems or hospital visits.
But even though studies show it works, many places don’t use telemonitoring much. Some reasons are the cost of setting it up, paying for ongoing support, and staff needing training. In a study with over 1,100 patients called TASMINH4, telemonitoring helped lower blood pressure faster in six months. After one year, the difference was smaller, but it shows telemonitoring can help, especially at the start for new or uncontrolled patients.
The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggest using a team of health workers to improve blood pressure control. This team usually has doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and others working together to help patients.
The team focuses on:
Using self-measured blood pressure with telemonitoring and continuous care from the team helps lower blood pressure better. Studies say that checking patients often and having care providers talk regularly stops delays in changing treatment when blood pressure is still high.
High blood pressure that is not controlled costs the U.S. a lot—between $131 billion and $198 billion yearly. People with uncontrolled blood pressure spend about $2,500 more each year on healthcare than those whose blood pressure is controlled. Using team-based care not only helps patients but also lowers hospital visits and costs. This helps healthcare places use their resources better while giving good care.
Telemonitoring can cost money to start with, like buying technology. But it can save money later by helping avoid emergency visits and hospital stays. On average, telemonitoring costs about 663 euros more per patient than usual care, but this can be made up with fewer health events.
Mobile health (mHealth) uses phones and apps for monitoring and messaging. Since many people in the U.S. have smartphones, these tools make telemonitoring easier and cheaper. They cut the need for special equipment and can be used by more people.
One big plus of mHealth and telemonitoring is quick help. Doctors can see patients’ readings quickly and change treatment or give advice before problems get worse. This keeps patients more involved and helps them follow their care plans.
Even with clear benefits, health providers often face problems when starting telemonitoring and HBPM. These include:
Protecting patient data is very important because blood pressure and health info are private. Groups like the American Heart Association say strict rules are needed to keep data safe. This includes following laws like HIPAA, which protect health information in the U.S.
Health organizations must make sure any telemonitoring or apps they use follow strong security rules. This means data must be encrypted, stored safely, and access must be controlled to keep patient information secure.
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and automation tools in healthcare can help manage hypertension better. AI can look at big sets of blood pressure data from HBPM and telemonitoring. It can find patterns, spot unusual readings, and predict which patients might have problems. This helps doctors act early.
For health managers and IT workers, AI systems that work with existing health records can help by:
Some companies like Simbo AI make office automation tools that use AI for phone calls and messages. These tools lower the work needed from staff by handling appointments and patient questions. This lets healthcare workers spend more time with patients.
AI can also send patients helpful messages to explain why checking blood pressure and following treatment are important. This helps keep patients involved without needing a lot of extra staff time.
Healthcare managers and IT professionals in the U.S. have special challenges because of how the healthcare system works, payment policies, and patient diversity. Knowing these can help get the best results when using HBPM and telemonitoring.
By working on these areas, healthcare groups in the U.S. can help patients manage high blood pressure better, cut costs from uncontrolled blood pressure, and give better care supported by technology and teamwork.
Home Blood Pressure Monitoring combined with telemonitoring and team-based care is a good way to handle high blood pressure challenges in the United States. With the right technology, AI tools, workflow systems, and training for staff, medical managers, owners, and IT teams can improve patient health and make healthcare work better.
Communication technology can enhance physician-patient interaction, improve treatment adherence, and enable remote blood pressure monitoring, leading to better hypertension management and lower blood pressure values.
eHealth refers to the use of information and communication technologies for health. It offers innovative strategies for managing hypertension by empowering patients, improving treatment adherence, and enabling remote monitoring.
HBPM is a strategy that involves patients measuring their own blood pressure at home, promoting awareness and enabling telemonitoring to improve hypertension management.
Telemonitoring involves remotely monitoring patients’ blood pressure through electronic devices, allowing physicians to react swiftly to changing clinical conditions and enhance hypertension control.
mHealth uses mobile devices to facilitate remote monitoring, timely communication between patients and physicians, improved patient education, and flexible health data sharing.
mHealth solutions are typically more cost-effective than traditional methods due to reduced need for expensive dedicated devices and the ability to utilize existing smartphones for health monitoring.
Barriers include high costs of implementation and maintenance, challenges with software usability, and the need for more robust clinical evidence to support its effectiveness in real-world settings.
Despite promising results from studies, there is a need for stronger evidence, as many available studies show high variability and lack large-scale data.
Privacy and security are critical concerns, as health-related data are highly sensitive. There are calls for stronger regulatory measures to ensure the safety of patient data.
Large, randomized clinical trials are needed to provide robust evidence on the efficacy of mHealth strategies in hypertension management, supporting their broader adoption in clinical practice.