Difficult Hypertension Clinic Utilizing a Nurse Specialist: A Cost‐Efficient Model for the Modern Era?

• Published in: The journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) Vol. 17; no. 9; pp. 732 - 736
• Main Authors: Merwe, Walter, Merwe, Veronica
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley and Sons Inc 01.09.2015
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Amlodipine - administration & dosage; Antihypertensive Agents - administration & dosage; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Blood Pressure Determination - methods; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Female; Humans; Hypertension - drug therapy; Hypertension - economics; Hypertension - nursing; Male; Middle Aged; Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonists - administration & dosage; New Zealand; Nurse Practitioners - economics; Nurse Practitioners - standards; Original Paper; Original Papers; Spironolactone - administration & dosage; Young Adult; New Zealand
• ISSN: 1524-6175; 1751-7176; 1751-7176
• DOI: 10.1111/jch.12573

In the modern era in New Zealand, there has been a lack of specialist hypertension clinics where family practitioners might refer patients with difficult‐to‐treat or resistant hypertension. A new specialist referral hypertension clinic was established in 2009 at North Shore Hospital, Auckland, employing a model of care where much of the follow‐up work is done by a nurse specialist. The authors review data from the first 1000 patients discharged from the clinic. Mean (treated) blood pressure improved by −26/12 mm Hg over an average of three visits, two thirds of which were to nurse specialist clinics. The authors propose this as a cost‐efficient model that could easily be duplicated in other centers.