Patient-Portal vs Text-based Hypertension Monitoring Among Black Medicaid/Medicare Patients

University of Pennsylvania

Status: Completed

Conditions: Hypertension; Cardiovascular Diseases

Treatments: Behavioral: Online patient portal; Behavioral: Texting

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05186831

University of Pennsylvania

Details and patient eligibility

About

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has uprooted conventional health care delivery for routine ambulatory care, requiring health systems to rapidly adopt telemedicine capabilities. The digital divide, has been well documented with lower rates of technology and broadband adoption among racial/ethnic minorities. Additionally, Black patients suffer a disproportionate burden of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. This study will implement a text-based home hypertension monitoring program among Black Medicaid patients with hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and compare its uptake to the currently available blood pressure monitoring program using the patient portal that is integrated into the electronic health record (EHR).

Enrollment: 20 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Self-identified Black race
• Medicaid or Medicare insurance
• Hypertension
• Cardiovascular disease or presence of at least 1 cardiovascular risk factor
• Seen for in-person consultation at the Heart and Vascular clinic at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Exclusion criteria

• Does not speak English
• Already owns a BP cuff
• Does not have internet access or a phone 15 with texting capabilities

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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20 participants in 2 patient groups

Text-based monitoring

Experimental group

Description:

Patients will be asked to take their BP two times daily and text their BP to the study phone number twice a day for 14 days.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Texting

Online patient portal

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients will be asked to take their BP two times daily. They will be given instructions on how to upload BP readings to the online patient portal and will be asked to upload all BP readings. This represents enhanced standard of care.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Online patient portal