Investigation on the chronic disease management of hypertension in county-level medical institutions in China / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the development of hypertension specialty and chronic disease management of county-level hospitals in China, for reference in improving the standardized chronic disease management level of hypertension in the counties.Methods:From September to November 2020, a questionnaire survey on 597 county-level hospitals in 24 provinces was conducted on a voluntary basis. The survey covered such areas as the setup of hypertension specialty, team building of professionals and the management regulations of chronic hypertension of the hospital. The survey data were analyzed by descriptive statistics.Results:Among the 597 county-level hospitals, 54(13.5%) hospitals had independent hypertension departments, 147(24.6%) had hypertension clinics, and 143(24.0%) hospitals had hypertension beds. 431(72.2%) hospitals had hypertension diagnosis and treatment process in outpatient clinics, 454(76.0%) hospitals had hypertension diagnosis and treatment process in wards, and 535(89.6%) hospitals had graded diagnosis and treatment process of hypertension. 473(79.2%) hospitals had established county medical alliance as the lead unit, including 167 compact medical alliances. 97.7% of the hospitals were equipped with basic hypertension risk stratification screening items, and 63.8% could carry out primary screening of secondary hypertension.Conclusions:The pattern of chronic diseases management of hypertension in county-level medical institutions has basically taken shape, but there is still room for improvement. In the future, we should focus on the construction of professional teams of hypertension, the standardized management of diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, and a smoother path of tiered medical service, so as to increase the health management level of hypertension in China.