[Control of blood pressure by using an intelligent telephone application with feedback and competitiveness strategy. HTApp Control project]. / Control de la presión arterial mediante el uso de una aplicación para teléfono inteligente con estrategia de retroalimentación y competitividad. Proyecto Control HTApp.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Arterial hypertension is a highly important cardiovascular risk factor, with low control percentages. New technologies can help to obtain a better control of this disease. The intention is to know if a mobile application can help achieve this goal. METHOD: A mobile phone application is used to give feedback to physicians with the aim of generate competitiveness in achieving objectives. The application could, at any time, determine the rate of controlled patients (<140/90mmHg) by each physician, and compare them with the mean number of the patients controlled by the group. The possible changes in the therapeutic attitude of physicians are also analysed and the differences in achieving objectives are compared based on specific characteristics of patients. RESULTS: The study included 220 patients aged 18-80 years, with mean blood pressure>140/90mmHg, despite medical treatment, tracked for 4 visits. At the end of the follow-up, 69.03% achieved good control, compared to 12.8% in the baseline study (P<.001), with no differences between gender (control of 68.6 and 69.29% of women and men, respectively), nor among the different levels of cardiovascular risk. CONCLUSIONS: The use of interactive tools that allow the dynamic process of feedback on the results fosters the motivation and improves the therapeutic inertia in the control of blood pressure.

Control de la presión arterial mediante el uso de una aplicación para teléfono inteligente con estrategia de retroalimentación y competitividad. Proyecto Control HTApp / Control of blood pressure by using an intelligent telephone application with feedback and competitiveness strategy. HTApp Control project

Introducción y objetivo. La hipertensión arterial es un factor de riesgo cardiovascular de gran importancia y con bajos porcentajes de control. Las nuevas tecnologías pueden ayudar a obtener un mejor control de esta enfermedad, por lo que se pretende conocer si una aplicación móvil puede ayudar a conseguir este objetivo. Método. Se utiliza una aplicación para teléfonos móviles que permite dar información de retroalimentación a los médicos con intención de generar competitividad en la consecución de objetivos. La aplicación permitía conocer en todo momento la tasa de pacientes controlados (<140/90mmHg) por cada médico, y compararlos con la media de pacientes controlados por el grupo. También se analizan los posibles cambios en la actitud terapéutica de los médicos y se comparan diferencias en consecución de objetivos en función de determinadas características de los pacientes. Resultados. Se incluyeron 220 pacientes, de 18 a 80 años, con cifras de presión arterial>140/90mmHg a pesar de tratamiento médico, seguidos durante 4 visitas. Al final del seguimiento, el 69,03% logró un buen control, en comparación con el 12,8% en el estudio basal (p<0,001), sin que se observaran diferencias entre ambos sexos (control del 68,6 y 69,29% en mujeres y hombres, respectivamente) ni entre los distintos niveles de riesgo cardiovascular. Conclusiones. El uso de herramientas interactivas que permitan el proceso dinámico de retroalimentación sobre los propios resultados favorece la motivación y mejora la inercia terapéutica en el control de la presión arterial (AU)

Introduction and objective. Arterial hypertension is a highly important cardiovascular risk factor, with low control percentages. New technologies can help to obtain a better control of this disease. The intention is to know if a mobile application can help achieve this goal. Method. A mobile phone application is used to give feedback to physicians with the aim of generate competitiveness in achieving objectives. The application could, at any time, determine the rate of controlled patients (<140/90mmHg) by each physician, and compare them with the mean number of the patients controlled by the group. The possible changes in the therapeutic attitude of physicians are also analysed and the differences in achieving objectives are compared based on specific characteristics of patients. Results. The study included 220 patients aged 18-80 years, with mean blood pressure>140/90mmHg, despite medical treatment, tracked for 4 visits. At the end of the follow-up, 69.03% achieved good control, compared to 12.8% in the baseline study (P<.001), with no differences between gender (control of 68.6 and 69.29% of women and men, respectively), nor among the different levels of cardiovascular risk. Conclusions. The use of interactive tools that allow the dynamic process of feedback on the results fosters the motivation and improves the therapeutic inertia in the control of blood pressure (AU)