Hypertension: Strategies to Improve Outcomes
Course #94223 - $30 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Hypertension is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality and a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as stroke, end-stage renal failure, and peripheral vascular disease. Most adults with CVD comorbidities have hypertension, and poor control of hypertension further exacerbates CVD risk. Hypertension is also associated with shorter overall life expectancy. The goals of hypertensive management are to reduce elevated blood pressure, reduce overall cardiovascular risk, and prevent end-organ damage. These goals can be effectively accomplished through lifestyle interventions, diet, exercise and appropriate pharmacologic treatment. However, disparities in the treatment of hypertension still exist. As new clinical practice guidelines for hypertension will be issued in the near future, healthcare professionals should take the opportunity to incorporate the latest evidence-based medicine into clinical practice and improve outcomes in patients with hypertension.
- INTRODUCTION
- EPIDEMIOLOGY OF HYPERTENSION
- UNDERSTANDING THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF HYPERTENSION
- SCREENING FOR HYPERTENSION
- NONPHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTIONS FOR HYPERTENSION
- PHARMACOLOGIC INTERVENTIONS FOR HYPERTENSION
- ADHERENCE ISSUES
- TREATMENT CONSIDERATIONS IN SPECIAL POPULATIONS
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for all physicians, physician assistants, nurses, and pharmacy professionals involved in the care of patients with hypertension.
The purpose of this course is to provide healthcare professionals with the information necessary to develop treatment regimens associated with optimal adherence and provide adequate patient education, counseling, and support to patients with hypertension.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline the epidemiology and pathophysiology of hypertension.
- Describe pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic options for the management of hypertension.
- Evaluate adherence to hypertension management recommendations and considerations for special populations.
- Discuss the risks and benefits of pharmacologic approaches to hypertension management.
- Describe strategies to improve patient adherence to hypertension medication by developing treatment regimens associated with optimal adherence and providing adequate patient education, counseling, and support.
- Analyze necessary modifications in treatment for special populations.
John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, is currently the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. In this role, he leads efforts to develop and expand strategic partnerships that create meaningful change around important and timely public health issues. Previously, Dr. Whyte was the Director of Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Chief Medical Expert and Vice President, Health and Medical Education at Discovery Channel, part of the media conglomerate Discovery Communications.
Prior to this, Dr. Whyte was in the Immediate Office of the Director at the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality. He served as Medical Advisor/Director of the Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve the Safety, Security, and Quality of Healthcare. Prior to this assignment, Dr. Whyte was the Acting Director, Division of Medical Items and Devices in the Coverage and Analysis Group in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS is the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In his role at CMS, Dr.Whyte made recommendations as to whether or not the Medicare program should pay for certain procedures, equipment, or services. His division was responsible for durable medical equipment, orthotics/prosthetics, drugs/biologics/therapeutics, medical items, laboratory tests, and non-implantable devices. As Division Director as well as Medical Officer/Senior Advisor, Dr. Whyte was responsible for more national coverage decisions than any other CMS staff.
Dr. Whyte is a board-certified internist. He completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center as well as earned a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University School of Public Health. Prior to arriving in Washington, Dr. Whyte was a health services research fellow at Stanford and attending physician in the Department of Medicine. He has written extensively in the medical and lay press on health policy issues.
Contributing faculty, John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
John M. Leonard, MD
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD
Randall L. Allen, PharmD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.