Nashville, Tenn.-based Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s primary care physicians will soon participate in a four-year, pharmacist-led study aimed at enhancing hypertension care models.
The study is funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, according to an April 8 news release from VUMC.
Physicians from all 38 adult primary care practices within Vanderbilt Health will refer patients with moderately severe, uncontrolled hypertension, as well as high-risk patients with chronic kidney disease, diabetes or cardiovascular disease, to clinical pharmacists for care.
Pharmacists will then see patients via telehealth for 12 weeks to provide medication adherence assessments, lifestyle counseling and medication titration, and assist with at-home blood pressure monitoring.
“We estimate engaging more than 1,600 primary care patients through [this] pharmacist-led, team-based care intervention while also benefiting an additional 21,000 patients with uncontrolled hypertension through other EHR-based management tools,” William Martinez, MD, associate professor of medicine and co-principal investigator for the study, said in the release.
Findings from the study will provide insight on the most effective methods for hypertension control, potentially leading to changes in clinical care.
