The Importance of Accurate Blood Pressure Recordings

The HTA Quality team is proud to announce that we passed our NCQA HEDIS® audit for measurement year 2023. One lesson learned from the NCQA HEDIS audit, after reviewing multiple patient medical records from across several provider groups, is the importance of accurate blood pressure recordings and accurate follow-up care coordination to those blood pressure recordings.    

The Risks and Costs of Hypertension

About half of U.S. adults, or about 37 million people, have high blood pressure of 140/90 mm HG or higher. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, increases the risk of heart disease and stroke, two of the leading causes of death in the U.S. A person with hypertension is four times more likely to die from a stroke and three times more likely to die from heart disease. The estimated annual average direct and indirect costs of hypertension from 2014–2015 were $55.9 billion. Hypertension was the primary cause of approximately 3.7 million hospital outpatient visits in 2011 and about 1.2 million ED visits in 2015.

Despite varying definitions and treatment recommendations of hypertension by different organizations, all guidelines agree that controlling hypertension will significantly reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease mortality and lead to better health outcomes.

Blood Pressure and Diabetes 

Controlling BP levels helps reduce major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke, and heart failure) and microvascular complications (eye, kidney, and nerve diseases) and is especially important when managing diabetes. Diabetes is one of the costliest and highly prevalent chronic diseases in the United States. Approximately 37 million U.S. adults have diabetes; 8.5 million of these cases are undiagnosed. Complications from the disease cost the country nearly $327 billion annually. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. and killed approximately 87,500 people in 2019. Many complications such as heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and amputation can be prevented if diabetes is detected and addressed in the early stages. 

View our Blood Pressure Flyer to help you and your care team remember some keys to an accurate blood pressure testing and documentation.  

Reference: NCQA HEDIS MY2024 Volume 1