Digital patient communication: A new best practice for managing hypertension

Controlling blood pressure is the most effective way to lower cardiovascular risk, and a vital part of care delivery is understanding the most impactful and accessible way to help hypertensive patients manage their blood pressure. However, while home-based blood pressure monitors (HBPM) exist for the diagnosis and management of hypertension, providers and patients haven’t widely adopted or integrated these tools. To learn more about the efficacy of remote patient monitoring (RPM) with HBPMs, a recent pilot study evaluated integrated digital patient communication and at-home monitoring and aimed to determine whether identifying hypertension via HBPM and personalized patient support messaging was more accurate in diagnosing and treating hypertension than only periodic measurements in a clinical setting. The HBPM technology in question, the Controlling Blood Pressure Pathway (CBPP) by Twistle, uses asynchronous, secure text messaging to engage patients by enrolling, educating and reminding them of the importance of out-of-office blood pressure management. When a patient completes a 14- or 30-day cycle, the daily out-of-office blood pressure readings are automatically sent to the provider’s EHR along with a calculated mean (average) systolic and diastolic blood pressure result. The practices sought to improve patient outcomes and performance with CMS’ electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) 165v9, Controlling High Blood Pressure, by increasing the number of hypertensive patients with a blood pressure reading below 140/90 mmHg. In addition to improved health outcomes (i.e., lower blood pressure across patient populations), both pilot sites have had a positive net income three months after starting the CBPP. The CBPP study’s early clinical results make a strong case for embracing and implementing HBPM and patient engagement as a best practice for diagnosing and treating hypertension.