Abstract P018: A Little Goes A Long Way: Improving Blood Pressure Control Through A Loaner BP Cuff Program

Abstract

Introduction: Out-of-office blood pressure (BP) measurement is key to diagnosing and improving hypertension (HTN). Effective out-of-office BP measurements depend on owning a home BP device. By loaning BP cuffs to patients with HTN, we aimed to improve rates of BP control at our residency clinic by 10% in 12 months. Methods: Root Cause Analysis identified barriers to out-of-office BP testing. BP cuffs obtained via a QI grant were loaned to patients through our Hypertension Clinic. We also provided education on proper technique, lifestyle, and medication management. Patients were referred by residents and attendings, or recruited via telephone outreach targeting those with BP > 160 mmHg. Patients of the HTN clinic served as our experimental cohort. Workflows and outreach were revised via PDSA cycles. Resident engagement was assessed by survey. Results: In our experimental cohort, BP control for severe hypertension (<160 mmHg) improved from 76% to 84% and overall BP control (< 140 mmHg) from 47% to 54% at 5 months. For the whole clinic, BP control for severe hypertension improved from 85% to 91% at 1 month and 87% at 5 months; overall blood pressure control decreased from 75% to 67%. Surveyed residents reported regular follow up, medication titration and getting a BP cuff loaner as top reasons for referral. Conclusions: We successfully implemented a BP cuff loaner program within a hypertension clinic. Initial data shows improvement of severe and overall BP control for enrolled patients. The program was well-received by involved providers and patients. Providing BP cuff loaners is an effective low-cost intervention that improved BP control and decreases disparity for low-income patients.