Objectives To assess the effectiveness of telemedicine video visits in the management of hypertensive patients at home during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also evaluated associated measures of patient satisfaction with these holistic visits. Patients and Methods A quantitative analysis was performed of all home video visits coded with a diagnosis of Essential Hypertension during the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic (March, 2020 through February, 2021). A total of 10,634 patients with 16,194 hypertension visits were present in our national telemedicine practice database during this time period. Among this population, a total of 569 patients who had 1,785 hypertension visits met the criteria of having two or more blood pressure readings, with the last blood pressure reading occurring in the report period. We analyzed baseline characteristics and blood pressure trends of these 569 patients over the study period. Voluntarily submitted patient satisfaction ratings, which were systematically requested at the end of each visit, were also analyzed. Results The mean age of the patients in this study cohort of 569 patients was 43.9 years, and 48.3% were women. Over 62% of the patients had an initial systolic BP over140 mm Hg, and 25% had an initial SBP of greater than 160 mm Hg. The average number of visits over the study period was 3.1 visits per patient. An average of 6.4 BP measurements per patient were available over the study period. Over the study period, 77% of the patients experienced an improvement in either systolic or diastolic blood pressure, with mean reductions of -9.7 mm Hg and -6.8 mm Hg in systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respectively. A total of 416 patients in the cohort started with a blood pressure above 140/90 mm Hg. For this subset of patients, 55.7% achieved a BP of <=140/90 by the end of the study period, and the average reductions in systolic and diastolic blood pressures were -17.9 mm Hg and -12.8 mm Hg respectively, which corresponded to improvements of 11.2% and 12.4% respectively. These improvements did not vary significantly when patients were stratified by age, sex, or geographic region of residence (rural versus urban/suburban). Voluntarily submitted patient surveys indicated a high degree of patient satisfaction, with a mean satisfaction score of 4.94 (5 point scale). Conclusion Clinician-patient relationships established in a video-first telemedicine model were broadly effective for addressing sub-optimally controlled hypertension. Patient satisfaction with these visits was very high.
Effective Access to Care in a Crisis Period: Hypertension Control during the COVID-19 Pandemic via Telemedicine