POSTAL MEDICINE DELIVERY FOR STAGE-2 HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN COVID-19 SITUATION: TURNING CRISIS TO OPPORTUNITY
Journal of Hypertension
; 41:e233-e234, 2023.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2243382
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced healthcare systems, particularly in the areas of non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, where the majority of patients require medication therapy and frequent visits. The postal medicine delivery (PMD) approach was an innovative solution to keep antihypertensive drugs accessible under the social distance regulation.Objective:
We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the PMD in terms of blood pressure (BP) control (< 140/90 mmHg), and target organ damage (TOD) including myocardial infarction, heart failure, acute stroke, and progression of chronic kidney disease) during the use of PMD. Design andmethod:
This was a cross-sectional study in a university hospital, conducted between 11th March to 27th May 2020 when the hospital policy stated that outpatient departments' service would be reduced, and physicians were encouraged to use PMD. Patients without a history of TOD and who had a history of well BP control (< 140/90 mmHg) for the last 2 weeks, were enrolled. All of the patients used smartphones and LINE® applications for contacting the nurse coordinator every 3 months to report their home BP. After 6 months of PMD, patients were assigned to have a follow-up visit at the hospital for office BP measurement and having metabolic panel checked.Results:
Thirty-eight patients met the inclusion criteria, and 68% were women. Most of the patients (97.4%) had used home BP monitoring (HPBM). The rate of BP control in goal was 64.2%. There was no TOD during the PMD approach. The medication boxes were sent successfully via postal service within 5-10 days, with no loss or damage recorded. All of the patients reported that they had been taking their antihypertensive medications. More than two-thirds (68.4%) continued to follow a low-sodium diet, while 76.3 percent continued to exercise regularly.Conclusions:
In the COVID-19 epidemic, the PMD method could be another effective and safe strategy to enhance medicine access, if suitable enrolment criteria and communication between healthcare practitioners and patients are maintained. (Figure Presented).
antihypertensive agent; adult; blood pressure measurement; blood pressure monitoring; blood pressure regulation; cerebrovascular accident; chronic kidney failure; clinical article; conference abstract; controlled study; coronavirus disease 2019; cross-sectional study; epidemic; exercise; female; follow up; health care personnel; heart failure; heart infarction; hospital policy; human; hypertensive patient; male; nurse; organ injury; outpatient department; pandemic; physician; postal mail; smartphone; sodium restriction; target organ; university hospital
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Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Language:
English
Journal:
Journal of Hypertension
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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