Home Blood Pressure-Monitoring Kits Save Insurance Companies Money
Targeted News Service |
Home blood pressure-monitoring (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/SymptomsDiagnosisMonitoringofHighBloodPressure/Home-Blood-Pressure-Monitoring_UCM_301874_Article.jsp) kits can save insurance companies money by improving healthcare quality and reducing healthcare costs, according to new research in the
In
Home monitoring kits effectively test blood pressure at regular intervals over several days or weeks in a familiar environment.
In the first analysis of its kind, researchers found that for each dollar invested in home monitoring kits, insurance companies could expect a return of
"Home blood pressure monitors should be reimbursed, widely adopted across America and integrated into current clinical practice for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension," said
Researchers analyzed 2008-11 data from two health insurance plans operated by a Midwestern health maintenance organization. One was a private employee plan with 25,478 members, and the other was a
High blood pressure affected 6 percent of the employee plan's members ages 20-44 and 34 percent of those 45-64. In the
Depending on the insurance plan and age-group, net savings associated with home blood pressure monitoring ranged from
Researchers found reasons for the savings differed by age groups and whether the monitors were used for treatment or diagnosis. In people 65 and older, home monitoring saved more when used to track high blood pressure treatment, by helping them avoid future adverse cardiovascular events. In people younger than 65, savings were higher in diagnostic use of the monitors with fewer false positive diagnoses and fewer people starting unnecessary treatment.
"By improving the accuracy of their blood pressure assessment and by monitoring their blood pressures outside the clinic setting, patients help themselves, help their physicians and save money for insurance companies," Arrieta said.
The
Co-authors are
Additional Resources:
* Learn more (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/SymptomsDiagnosisMonitoringofHighBloodPressure/Choosing-a-Home-Blood-Pressure-Monitor_UCM_303322_Article.jsp) about home blood pressure monitoring, including the best types to use.
* Watch this video (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/SymptomsDiagnosisMonitoringofHighBloodPressure/Instructional-Video---Monitoring-Blood-Pressure-at-Home_UCM_303324_Article.jsp) to learn how to monitor your blood pressure at home and how to work with your doctor on the results.
* View an animation (http://watchlearnlive.heart.org/CVML_Player.php?moduleSelect=highbp) of high blood pressure.
* Learn more (http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/CholesterolToolsResources/The-Power-of-Knowing-Your-Numbers_UCM_462169_Article.jsp) about our Heart360 tool and the importance of tracking your blood pressure readings.
* Find out about blood pressure monitoring programs (http://www.heart.org/checkchangecontrol) near you.
* Researcher photo, heart illustration and blood pressure photos are available on the right column of this news release link http://newsroom.heart.org/news/home-blood-pressure-monitoring-kits-save-insurance-companies-money?preview=6a584a22c641ef39fbc50c74f0d68acf
* Follow AHA/ASA news on
* For the updates and new science from the Hypertension journal follow @HyperAHA.
[Category: Health Care]
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