Herramienta para mejorar la eficiencia en el manejo clínico de pacientes hipertensos / Tools to improve efficiency in the clinical management of hypertensive patients

Objetivo: Crear una herramienta que permita evaluar la eficiencia de la gestión clínica de los pacientes hipertensos en atención primaria. Material y métodos: Se creó un cuestionario dirigido a los centros de atención primaria, con acceso vía Web, para la autoevaluación del manejo de la hipertensión, respecto a 5 áreas de gestión: sistemas de información; pruebas diagnósticas y analíticas; aspectos organizativos; demanda asistencial y consumo de recursos; y programas de atención continuada para profesionales y para pacientes. Previamente, un comité de expertos definió estas preguntas, así como su respuesta ideal o «control», basándose en la literatura científica o, en caso de no haber referencias publicadas, de manera consensuada por dicho comité. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de los datos y se creó un índice de adherencia de sus resultados con respecto al «control», que oscila entre 0 (ninguna adherencia) y 1 (total adherencia). Resultados: Un total de 35 centros de salud introdujeron sus datos de gestión de pacientes hipertensos en la Web de gestión clínica. Se observó la mayor adherencia en el área «Pruebas diagnósticas y analíticas» (0,69±0,10) y la menor en el área «Programas de formación continuada para pacientes y profesionales» (0,42±0,21). Conclusiones: La eficiencia de la gestión clínica en pacientes hipertensos puede analizarse mediante la herramienta web creada para este fin. Su uso permite realizar una auditoría interna para detectar las áreas que necesitan mejoras y también sirve para hacer evaluaciones comparativas en las distintas áreas de gestión a lo largo del tiempo

Objective: To create a tool to evaluate the efficiency of the clinical management of hypertensive patients in Primary Care. Material and methods: A web-based questionnaire was designed for Primary Care centres to self-evaluate the management of hypertension in five specific areas: information systems, diagnostic and analytical tests, organisational aspects, use of resources, and continuous training programmes for patients and healthcare professionals. A committee of experts previously defined these questions and their ideal responses or "control", based on the scientific literature or, if there were no published references, by consensus of the committee. A descriptive analysis was performed on the data, and an adherence score was created that ranged from 0 (no adherence) to 1 (total adherence). Results: A total of 35 Primary Care centres entered their data into the website for the clinical management of hypertensive patients. The highest adherence to the ideal algorithm was observed in the area "Diagnostic and analytical tests" (0.69±0.10), and the lowest in "Continuous training programmes for patients and professionals" (0.42±0.21). Conclusions: The efficiency of clinical management in hypertensive patients can be analysed using the website tool created for this purpose. Its use allows an internal audit to detect the areas that need improvement, and also serves to make comparative evaluations in the different areas of management over time

[Tools to improve efficiency in the clinical management of hypertensive patients]. / Herramienta para mejorar la eficiencia en el manejo clínico de pacientes hipertensos.

OBJECTIVE: To create a tool to evaluate the efficiency of the clinical management of hypertensive patients in Primary Care. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A web-based questionnaire was designed for Primary Care centres to self-evaluate the management of hypertension in five specific areas: information systems, diagnostic and analytical tests, organisational aspects, use of resources, and continuous training programmes for patients and healthcare professionals. A committee of experts previously defined these questions and their ideal responses or "control", based on the scientific literature or, if there were no published references, by consensus of the committee. A descriptive analysis was performed on the data, and an adherence score was created that ranged from 0 (no adherence) to 1 (total adherence). RESULTS: A total of 35 Primary Care centres entered their data into the website for the clinical management of hypertensive patients. The highest adherence to the ideal algorithm was observed in the area "Diagnostic and analytical tests" (0.69±0.10), and the lowest in "Continuous training programmes for patients and professionals" (0.42±0.21). CONCLUSIONS: The efficiency of clinical management in hypertensive patients can be analysed using the website tool created for this purpose. Its use allows an internal audit to detect the areas that need improvement, and also serves to make comparative evaluations in the different areas of management over time.