BP Quality guidelines FYI

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Here is a quote we use in our new chapter on BP measurement. "The National Committee on Quality Assurance currently accepts the lowest systolic and diastolicBP measurement in any position (and not from the same reading) as the “BP for that visit,” which is why most managed care organizationsrequire every reading to be charted."National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) . Healthplan Employee Data InformationSet (HEDIS®) 2007 . Washington, DC : NCQA ; 2007 . http: // www . ncqa . org . Accessed July 19, 2011 .This will of course will tend to make BP look like it is better controlled than it may well be. But makes a clinic look good for BP control. When we get better electronic records the QA might better be the average of all recored BPs in the last 6 months. So, assuming that all clinics in a system that measure BP use the same standard method and the same device, this should give a better estimate of BP control. Would need to be able to filter out those taken say in an ER visit when in pain. May your salt intake and pressure be low!Clarence Grim BS, MS, MDRetired (semi) Professor of MedicineMedical College of WisconsinBoard Certified Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Hypertension SpecialistSpecializing in difficult to control high blood pressure especially the numerous forms of Primary Aldsoteronism.Mission: Training you and your health care team to get BP, HbA1 and lipids to goal by merging lifestyle and pharmaceutical modalities.ALL advice given by me MUST be discussed with your heath care team. They know you best. Don't gamble with your life. Don't become a cyberchondriac by looking at fringe groups on the web. We encourage members of your health care team to join our efforts to learn what is new as well to refresh what is old but still good in the BP business.