IMPORTANT CHANGES TO BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM AT WYCLIFFE MEDICAL PRACTICE
Please be advised that the process for monitoring patients blood pressures will change from 13th February 2023.
IF YOU ARE OVER THE AGE OF 80 OR ARE DIABETIC YOU WILL NOT BE AFFECTED BY THESE CHANGES AS THE BLOOD PRESSURE OF THESE PATIENT GROUPS REQUIRES MANAGEMENT IN A DIFFERENT WAY. IF YOU ARE OVER 80 OR DIABETIC PLEASE CONTINUE TO RECORD THE REQUESTED READINGS ON THE PAPER SHEET AND GIVE THIS TO THE SURGERY.
For all other patients (under 80 and not diabetic), from 13th February 2023 we will move to using an accuRx messaging service. After this date we will not accept blood pressure readings on paper.
When your blood pressure monitoring is due you will receive a message on the mobile number registered on your record. We will request that you start to perform 1 week of blood pressure monitoring. This message will be live/active for up to 1 week after you have received it.
When you have taken your first home blood pressure reading, use the link in the message to record your blood pressure reading. You will be asked if you would like a reminder for your next reading. If you press yes, you will then get a twice daily reminder to submit your blood pressure reading for the next 7 days.
Once the 7 days of readings are complete, the system automatically averages this and gives a final reading that is recorded directly into your medical record, and a clinician is informed the readings are ready to be viewed.
Please note patients who are in this cohort (under 80 and not diabetic) only need to record sitting blood pressures, you do not need to submit sitting and standing readings.
REASONING BEHIND CHANGE IN PROCESS:
At present we have 2948 patients who require blood pressure monitoring every 6 months. This is 5896 blood pressure readings per year, plus any additional readings requested when a medication is changed or non diagnosed patients are first found to have high blood pressure.
In our current system these are mostly done on paper and an administrator has to average the results and input them manually into the system. This can take over 5minutes per result. This is resulting in large backlogs of blood pressures to be entered onto the system and unnecessary/sometimes unsafe delay. With the accuRx system that we have piloted with a small number of patients, patient feedback has been positive that the system is easy to use and the prompts to do a reading are helpful.
Compared to 5 minutes of administrator time in our current system, the input required is around 30seconds. Over the course of a year this change in process will save 442 hours of administrator time, that can then be used for other purposes such as answering the phone or dealing with post and referrals.
This system is also far safer in terms of eliminating human error that can occur when manually averaging the figures, and ensuring that any abnormal results are seen in a timely fashion, not caught up in a backlog of results.
Thankyou for your support with this,
Wycliffe Medical Practice