The American Medical Association on Thursday launched an initiative to standardize blood pressure measurement training, hoping that its virtual courses will help future physicians accurately take patient readings.
For the 108 million U.S. adults living with hypertension, accurate blood pressure measurements are key to diagnosis and treatment, as well as the prevention of conditions like heart disease and stroke.
Yet, training for measuring blood pressure varies at medical schools and often leaves students unprepared.
"This effort is part of AMA's ongoing commitment to drive the future of medicine by reimagining medical education, training and lifelong learning—ensuring medical students are equipped to provide care in the rapidly-evolving health care environment given the increased use of telehealth and home blood pressure monitoring," said AMA President Susan Bailey in a Thursday news release.
A 2019 AMA and American Heart Association survey found that around 41% of blood pressure measurements taken across all medical practices were likely not 100% accurate. Only 23% of healthcare professionals can perform the necessary steps to achieve an accurate blood pressure reading.
Because blood pressure measurement is often performed inadequately in clinical practice, it can cause errors that lead to incorrect decisions in 20% to 45% of cases.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 24% of adults with hypertension have their condition under control, and uncontrolled hypertension contributes to around 500,000 deaths annually in the U.S.
To address this, AMA is offering uniform, evidence-based blood pressure measurement techniques in order to improve citizen's health and the nation's blood pressure control rates.
This effort follows the 2019 virtual module developed by the AMA and AHA called "Achieving Accuracy: BP Measurement," since healthcare professionals were not receiving regular blood pressure measurement training.
As part of the initiative's rollout, the modules will also be incorporated into the fall 2021 curriculum of five schools: Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, Morehouse School of Medicine, UC Davis School of Medicine, and UNC School of Medicine.
Dr. Ron Ben-Ari, associate dean for curriculum at Keck School of Medicine, said the college received a grant to incorporate the module contents in the curriculum throughout all four years of medical school, and students will be trained and assessed on their blood pressure measurement.
He said AMA's model of four core standard clinical skills will be beneficial in working to treat common illnesses.
"Hypertension is a disease that is disparately distributed and [treated] across populations," Ben-Ari said. "So there's really an opportunity here to improve equity of care through having this standardization."
The "Student BP Measurement Essentials" series includes three online modules to address any gaps in training and teach students about topics like self-measured blood pressure, how to prepare a patient for measurements, and how to take measurements using different devices.
Each module, from the essentials to the refresher lesson, are available for free on the AMA's Ed Hub website.
In 2022 the AMA plans to expand the use of the modules in U.S. healthcare colleges and universities.
