Home telemonitoring, when combined with pharmacist case management, can help to improve high blood pressure management for patients with the chronic condition.  This was recently published in the  Journal of the American Medical Association.

For the study, researchers–led by Karen Margolis, M.D., of the Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners Research Foundation–examined 450 adults with uncontrolled blood pressure. Interventions lasted 12 months, and postintervention follow-up lasted for six months. Patients were required to transmit six BP measurements per week via a home telemonitoring while also meeting with a pharmacist over the phone for one hour every two weeks.

During the first six months of the intervention, the phone conversations–in which pharmacists discussed lifestyle changes and medication adherence with patients–took place every two weeks during until BP had been sustained for six weeks, at which point, the frequency was lowered to monthly. For the latter six months, pharmacist phone calls took place every two months.