Back to Basics: Improving the Quality of Blood Pressure Measurement

Practice Problem: Hypertension is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Blood pressure measurement (BPM) is at the forefront of diagnosing and treating hypertension, however, it is often measured inaccurately. PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In outpatient adult patients (P), what is the effect of implementing a standardized blood pressure measurement protocol (I) versus standard measurement (C), on the quality of blood pressure measurement (O) within 8 weeks (T)? Evidence: Implementation of a blood pressure measurement protocol has been shown to improve the quality of blood pressure measurement. Intervention: A blood pressure measurement protocol was implemented to improve the quality of blood pressure measurement. Outcome: The intervention improved the quality of blood pressure measurement, complying with the clinical practice guidelines, from a mean of 5 techniques to 9 techniques. Additionally, the number of Primary Care patients with HTN decreased from 37% to 33%, and the number of patients with normal blood pressure increased from 63% to 67%, ultimately improving the Primary care HTN metric from 66% to 71% during this project. Conclusion: The protocol not only improved the quality of the blood pressure measurement, but it also improved the hypertension metric. It is an effective intervention to improve the quality of blood pressure measurement, and the confidence in treating and managing hypertension.