ISSN: 2642-6250
Authors: Etli D*
Background: Hypertension affects nearly half of U.S. adults and is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, leading to approximately 500,000 deaths annually. Despite this, many healthcare providers lack confidence and knowledge in managing hypertension effectively. There is a pressing need for early intervention and aggressive treatment of hypertension across healthcare settings, including urgent care. This quality improvement (QI) project aimed to improve hypertension management in two urgent care centers by ensuring that 100% of adult patients were assessed for hypertension, received appropriate interventions during the visit, and had a scheduled follow-up with a primary care provider within one month. Methodology: A prospective cohort QI project was initiated at two urgent care centers in Nevada. All data was obtained deidentified, and no PHI was used to evaluate results. Intervention: A hypertension initiative was implemented for providers to emphasize existing evidence-based guidelines and organizational policy. This was performed using provider education, pre/post-surveys, and a four-week review of deidentified patient data from electronic medical records. Results: Prior to the intervention, provider confidence in hypertension management averaged 3.65 on a 5-point Likert scale, and knowledge of organizational policies was rated at 3.0. Post-intervention, confidence increased by 15% to 4.36 (p<0.05), and policy knowledge improved by 60% to 4.8. Patient screening rates increased from 82% to 85.6%, and appropriate pharmacological interventions rose from 2.2% to 3.5% of hypertensive patients. However, the percentage of patients scheduled for primary care follow-up decreased slightly from 29.6% to 27.3%. These findings suggest that provider education can significantly enhance hypertension management in urgent care, but care coordination requires further optimization. Conclusion: There was a significantly improved provider-reported comfort and knowledge level toward hypertension treatment in an urgent care setting. This led to increased interventions for patients, which may have a benefit toward reducing overall hypertension within a community. The implementation of a hypertension initiative may improve overall organizational hypertension metrics. Continued evaluation of provider knowledge and hypertension early intervention may improve compliance with best practice guidelines and improve patient outcomes.
Keywords: Hypertension Management; Urgent Care; Quality Improvement; Patient Care; Stakeholders
