Scale-up blood pressure project

Scale-Up BP is part of the Technology Enabled Care (TEC) programme funded by the Scottish Government.

Aims

This project aims to help improve the effectiveness and efficiency of health and social care provision to the people of Scotland, whilst also enhancing their ability to better self-manage their care needs.

Around 50 practices in Lothian are aiming to enrol 2500 patients to Scale-Up BP, a project run by NHS Lothian.

Method

Patients will be given an approved blood pressure machine and will be prompted regularly to check their blood pressure which they will be asked to text back through a system called Florence.  They will be told immediately if their blood pressure is on target and if it is worryingly high to contact the doctor or nurse. 

Each month the GPs and nurses will get a report of the blood pressure readings which shows the pattern of results and gives a clear indication if a change in treatment needs to be considered. Advice can be given by telephone. 

In addition patients will be given advice on lifestyle and how to look after blood pressure.

The Telescot team supported by the Scottish Chief Scientist Office, evaluated the roll out in Lothian, led by Professor Brian McKinstry in collaboration with NHS Lothian, the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier University and the Health Foundation.  

This involved exploration of the roll-out of Scale-up BP using qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews and direct observation with health care professionals, patients and stakeholders. Quantitative data on clinical outcomes and resource use were obtained from the Florence dataset and routinely acquired NHS data.

Results

The results have been published in PLOS Medicine.

Paper

Telemonitoring at scale for hypertension in primary care: An implementation study (PLOS Medicine, 2020)