Improving hypertension management in primary care

Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and chronic kidney disease, and it is responsible for substantial disease burden and increased risk of mortality.1 The global prevalence of hypertension ranges between 13% and 41%.2 However, the effectiveness and use of hypertension treatment vary widely worldwide.3 Studies show that doctors’ understanding of clinical practice guidelines influences choice of hypertensive drug,4 and using computer generated prompts is one of the most effective methods to improve adherence to guidelines.5 The latter has led to increasing development and use of clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) to assist healthcare professionals in decision making by providing important clinical knowledge, information about patients, and health related data.6 Results from randomised controlled trials using CDSS for hypertension have been conflicting, however, with some showing benefit for blood pressure outcomes, and others not.789

In the linked paper (doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-079143), Song and colleagues report the effectiveness of CDSS in improving primary care doctors’ adherence to hypertension …