A recent American study shows the savings that the use of home blood pressure monitors will save insurance companies over the next ten years.
All health systems face budgetary restrictions. Suffice to say that the treatments that save money are closely watched. “In the United States, more than 76 million adults suffer from hypertension,” indicates a study recently published by the American Heart Association. In this survey, researchers analyzed data from two US insurance companies to find out whether home blood pressure testing was profitable. In both cases, the majority of members were women. The second company included a significant number of people aged 65 or over (60%) with high blood pressure. These people had blood pressure monitors in their homes which they used daily.
Blood pressure monitor saves insurance companies
Invented in 1896 by the Italian Scipione Riva-Rozzi, this accessory almost as old as the cinema used to measure blood pressure is highly recommended by cardiologists and learned societies around the world. “Widely used in the United States, the blood pressure monitor effectively helps patients manage from home and reduces expenses for insurance companies,” said Alejandro Arrieta, lead author of the study. These reductions in spending would be considerable since, according to the study, for every dollar invested by patients in the purchase of a blood pressure monitor, insurance companies would save between 0.85 and 3.75 dollars (or 2.76 euros) this year and between 7.50 and 19.34 dollars (or 14.24 euros) in ten years.
The white blouse effect
In France, it is estimated that 25% of men and 18% of women are hypertensive, or 14.5 million people. If hypertension is not treated, it can cause serious damage (stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure). Hence the importance of regularly measuring your blood pressure, especially after the age of 65. However, doctors have observed an astonishing phenomenon in recent years: more than 25% of older people have higher blood pressure in their doctor’s office than in their living room. This is called the white coat effect. “This is the reason why it is much more efficient to measure your blood pressure at home with your own device,” said Professor Jean-Jacques Mourad, head of the center of excellence in arterial hypertension at the CHU Avicenne in Bobigny.
Everyday devices
If the effectiveness of blood pressure monitors has been proven, it remains to be seen whether patients make good use of them. According to Professor Mourad, the answer is “yes, even if he knows well-managed and well-controlled hypertensive patients who go to their doctor every month”. The life expectancy of these devices is 10 to 15 years “provided of course you change the batteries!” »Indicates Professor Mourad. “Sometimes, some patients store their device at the bottom of a cupboard once the effect of curiosity has passed,” he laments. Other patients, on the other hand, have fully integrated it into their daily lives, most of the time wishing to space out visits to their doctor.
A new electronic consultation mode is even being set up: “The patient sends his blood pressure averages to his doctor by email. But this method is not yet used everywhere, it is only at the experimental stage. We still have to find the solution for the prescription etc. However, it works well on small samples, ”explains Prof. Mourad. And fewer consultations are also a source of savings for the community.
The average cost of a blood pressure monitor in France is 30 euros. “At this price, the devices are 100% reliable. It remains honest. It is not uncommon to see patients being offered one for Christmas or Father’s Day, ”says Professor Mourad.
.