Is Education Enough to Change the Practice of Monitoring of Blood Pressure in Outpatient Clinics? Case Report

Abstract

Purpose: Hypertension (HTN) is a prevalent and preventable risk factor for several medical conditions that can lead to death. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of physical and occupational therapists taking blood pressure (BP) in outpatient clinics before and after education focused on the clinical importance of monitoring BP. Methods: This pre/posttest model consists of 2 phases. In phase 1, physical and occupational therapists were surveyed regarding attitudes, behaviors, and barriers toward monitoring BP; and electronic medical records (EMR) were audited to determine frequency of BP documentation. For phase 2, educational webinars were developed highlighting the importance of BP monitoring and followed by another EMR audit. Results: Nine clinicians participated in our survey. Survey results indicated that one-third agreed that BP should be monitored during evaluations, but 100% responded that they rarely take BP. An audit of 488 EMR charts pre-education showed there was no BP documented. Three months after education, another 237 EMR charts were audited, with a 12.7% improvement in the frequency of BP documented. A chi-square analysis showed that this improvement was statistically significant (P < .001). Conclusions: Therapists did not monitor and document BP. After the webinar series, there was a significant increase, however still below recommendations for monitoring BP.