{"id":26552,"date":"2021-07-06T22:30:14","date_gmt":"2021-07-06T22:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medical.andonline.com\/?p=26552"},"modified":"2023-06-13T05:29:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-13T05:29:01","slug":"special-healthcare-provider-report-ensuring-home-blood-pressure-monitors-are-accurate-for-in-home-patient-use-part-ii-patient-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medical.andonline.com\/special-healthcare-provider-report-ensuring-home-blood-pressure-monitors-are-accurate-for-in-home-patient-use-part-ii-patient-education\/?lang=ce","title":{"rendered":"Special Healthcare Provider Report Ensuring Home Blood Pressure Monitors are Accurate for In-home Patient Use, Part II: Patient Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

Special Healthcare Provider Report
\nEnsuring Home Blood Pressure Monitors are Accurate for In-home Patient Use, Part II: Patient Education<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section>
\n

With excerpts from an interview with Jerry Wang, Director of Engineering, A&D Medical\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>
\n

Volume I, Issue VI<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n

With the recent changes to the definition of what constitutes high blood pressure from the American Heart Association (AHA), almost half of all U.S. adults are now considered hypertensive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to the AHA, lowering the definition of high blood pressure will allow for earlier intervention to prevent further increases in blood pressure and complications related to hypertension,\u201d said Jerry Wang, Director of Engineering, A&D Medical. \u201cThey are hoping healthcare providers and patients will consider home monitoring of blood pressure levels, in order to gain accurate readings across a broader spectrum of time and to mitigate errors in readings that might take place in a physician\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healthcare practitioners know accurate home blood pressure monitors have become a valuable tool in long-term health management for their patients.<\/p>\n

But even as they look to recommend blood pressure devices to their patients, two main factors have become clear: 1) the phrase \u201cclinically validated\u201d has come to be a marketing term as opposed to a scientific one in conveying product accuracy, and 2) educating patients on the correct way to take blood pressure readings remains critical.<\/p>\n

And in our\u00a0last blog post<\/a>, we took a more in-depth look at the term \u201cclinical validation,\u201d and how to advise patients to research what it means.<\/p>\n

In this blog post, we\u2019ll look at how you can more fully educate patients on the right way to take blood pressure \u2013 as well as take that process one step further with a simple in-office test to judge the accuracy of their personal equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>

IN-OFFICE ACCURACY ASSESSMENT<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a clinically validated product: now what?\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

After advising patients about the\u00a0clinical validation<\/a>\u00a0process, providers can use the office visit as a time to educate patients on the proper procedure for blood pressure monitoring \u2013 which almost every practitioner has taped to their office wall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to reviewing the proper protocols for blood pressure readings, some healthcare practitioners want to assess the accuracy of their patient\u2019s equipment,\u201d said Mr. Wang. \u00a0\u201cThose practitioners can follow the\u00a0process<\/a>\u00a0laid out by the American Medical Association (AMA).\u201d<\/p>\n

This process is a simplified version of the European Society of Hypertension International Protocol, which can be done quickly in the office setting.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. Have the patient sit down with his or her arm at heart level (the arm should be completely relaxed).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. \n
          \n
        1. Allow the patient to rest for five minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. \n
              \n
            1. Avoid any conversation during the measurements to prevent an increase in blood pressure.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                \n
              1. Take a total of five sequential same-arm blood pressure readings, no more than 30 seconds apart.\n