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From research and guidelines to the consultation: five ways to improve blood pressure management in clinical practice
Author(s) -
Nelson Mark R
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02707.x
Subject(s) - citation , library science , psychology , computer science
guidelines need to be used by doctors if they are to improve population health outcomes. Despite publication of multiple editions of the hypertension guidelines, blood pressure (BP) control in Australia is less than ideal. 2 The reasons for this are varied, and include health system, doctor and patient factors. 3 Here, I outline simple but effective strategies for addressing some of the doctor factors associated with lack of BP control (Box), based on the Heart Foundation guidelines and supplemented by research conducted in Australian general practice. These strategies should help protect patients from stroke, myocardial infarction and other major organ damage, and are all practical in the general practice setting. Although they will not lead to universal control (because other factors are at play), they should help protect against therapeutic inertia and doctors’ doubts about their own selfefficacy — issues that may adversely affect patient health.