Are you looking for new ways to encourage your patients to take control of their blood pressure? Check. Change. Control. Connecting Communities and Care can help your patients manage their blood pressure to live healthier lives.
Before implementing Check. Change. Control. Connecting Communities and Care , work with your staff to establish goals to ensure that the program is making a measurable impact on patients’ health and to help evaluate the overall success of the program.
Recruitment Goals
Your recruitment goals will depend on several factors including the number of patients you have, available resources, and your patients’ health.
Recruiting Participants: Recruiting 5% to 10% of your overall patient population is a good starting point, but you may choose to be more or less aggressive in the number of patients you target to better fit your clinic’s needs. Any patient can participate, including those who are pre-hypertensive (120-139/80-89 mm Hg), hypertensive (140/90 mm Hg or higher), and those who have normal blood pressure (less than 120/80 mm Hg) and simply want to track their blood pressure over time.
Recruiting Community Partners: The success of Check. Change. Control. Connecting Communities and Care depends on engaging community partners. Try to partner with at least one organization that can help your patients reach their goals, such as a faith-based organization, fitness center or retail pharmacy.
Recruiting Health Mentors: Engaging at least one Health Mentor who can connect with patients in person, by email or phone at least twice a month is ideal. Any clinical staff members who are passionate about the program can be mentors. These staff members might include medical assistants, nurses, or physician’s assistants. Mentors support accountability, help patients set goals, and remind patients to continuously monitor their blood pressure.
Blood Pressure Management Goals
By encouraging patients to measure their blood pressure at least eight times over the course of four consecutive months, taking needed medications as prescribed and making lifestyle changes with support from Volunteer Health Mentors and community partners, your patients should successfully decrease their blood pressure. The AHA’s goal is to have at least 65% of participants control their blood pressure. You can adjust your goal to fit your clinic’s needs, but aiming for at least 50% of your patients to have their blood pressure below 140/90 mm Hg after four months is ideal.
NEXT: Select Your Measurement and Reporting Tool
HELPFUL RESOURCES:
Understanding and Managing High Blood Pressure Patient Guide (PDF)
High Blood Pressure Information