Implementing Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Into Usual Care

• The American Heart Association, American Society of Hypertension, and Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) guidelines should be considered in the management of patients with hypertension.
• Advanced practice nurses should incorporate HBPM into their practice, because it offers the potential for improving quality and outcomes and controlling costs.
• A culturally tailored HBPM intervention that includes team-based care, patient education, self-management skills, and evidence-based guidelines can be implemented in a family practice clinic at a Federally Qualified Community Health Center, and clinically significant improvements in blood pressure control can be achieved.
• It is imperative that the practice gap be closed through translation of HBPM evidence into modern practice.

Hypertension is a major public health issue in the United States with a high prevalence, increased burden in underserved populations, and suboptimal control. Home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) has been demonstrated to improve BP control. The practice improvement project described in this study incorporates a culturally tailored HBPM program into primary care in a community health center. The outcomes demonstrate it is feasible to implement HBPM into primary care in an underserved, high-risk population and that control of BP was improved.