Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2017 May 25;18(1):236.
doi: 10.1186/s13063-017-1970-z.

A coordinated PCP-Cardiologist Telemedicine Model (PCTM) in China's community hypertension care: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Lei Xu  1 , Wei-Yi Fang  2 , Fu Zhu  3 , Hong-Guang Zhang  4 , Kai Liu  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

A coordinated PCP-Cardiologist Telemedicine Model (PCTM) in China's community hypertension care: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Lei Xu et al. Trials. .

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and its control rate has remained low worldwide. Studies have found that telemonitoring blood pressure (BP) helped control hypertension in randomized controlled trials. However, little is known about its effect in a structured primary care model in which primary care physicians (PCPs) are partnering with cardiology specialists in electronic healthcare data sharing and medical interventions. This study aims to identify the effects of a coordinated PCP-cardiologist model that applies telemedicine tools to facilitate community hypertension control in China.

Methods/design: Patients with hypertension receiving care at four community healthcare centers that are academically affiliated to Shanghai Chest Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University are eligible if they have had uncontrolled BP in the previous 3 months and access to mobile Internet. Study subjects are randomly assigned to three interventional groups: (1) usual care; (2) home-based BP telemonitor with embedded Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) module and unlimited data plan, an app to access personal healthcare record and receive personalized lifestyle coaching contents, and proficiency training of their use; or (3) this plus coordinated PCP-cardiologist care in which PCPs and cardiologists share data via a secure CareLinker website to determine interventional approaches. The primary outcome is mean change in systolic blood pressure over a 12-month period. Secondary outcomes are changes of diastolic blood pressure, HbA1C, blood lipids, and medication adherence measured by the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale.

Discussion: This study will determine whether a coordinated PCP-Cardiologist Telemedicine Model that incorporates the latest telemedicine technologies will improve hypertension care. Success of the model would help streamline the present community healthcare processes and impact a greater number of patients with uncontrolled hypertension.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02919033 . Registered on 23 September 2016.

Keywords: Hypertension; Medication adherence; Primary care; Randomized controlled trial; Telemedicine.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Study design of the coordinated PCP-Cardiologist Telemedicine Model (PCTM)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Yang G, Wang Y, Zeng Y, Gao GF, Liang X, Zhou M, et al. Rapid health transition in China, 1990-2010: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2013;381(9882):1987–2015. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61097-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Law MR, Morris JK, Wald NJ. Use of blood pressure lowering drugs in the prevention of cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of 147 randomised trials in the context of expectations from prospective epidemiological studies. BMJ. 2009;338:b1665. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b1665. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dickinson HO, Mason JM, Nicolson DJ, Campbell F, Beyer FR, Cook JV, et al. Lifestyle interventions to reduce raised blood pressure: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Hypertens. 2006;24(2):215–33. doi: 10.1097/01.hjh.0000199800.72563.26. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Sundstrom J, Arima H, Woodward M, Jackson R, Karmali K, Lloyd-Jones D, et al. Blood pressure-lowering treatment based on cardiovascular risk: a meta-analysis of individual patient data. Lancet. 2014;384(9943):591–8. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61212-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kumar N, Khunger M, Gupta A, Garg N. A content analysis of smartphone-based applications for hypertension management. J Am Soc Hypertens. 2015;9(2):130–6. doi: 10.1016/j.jash.2014.12.001. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Associated data