mHEALTH APPLICATION AS A TOOL TO ASSIST FAMILY DOCTORS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF HYPERTENSION
Keywords:
mHealth application, hypertension, family doctor, ,, face to faceAbstract
Аim: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of using a mHealth application in work organizing of primary care clinics in managing patients with newly diagnosed hypertension in RN Macedonia.
Material and methods: A prospective randomized controlled multicenter study with 12-month follow-up of newly diagnosed patients with hypertension was performed. The intervention group received standard care + mHealth application, while the control group received only standard care. The mHealth application enabled transmission of measured blood pressure values in real time and two-way doctor-patient communication via SMS messages. The study monitored the number, reasons and justification of additional visits in the primary care clinic.
Results: From 192 participants included, 75(39.06%) had an additional visit - 23(24.21%) in the intervention and 52(53.61%) in the control group (p=0.0001). In terms of the number of additional visits per patient, only 1 in the intervention versus 17 in the control group had 3 emergency examinations (p=0.004). The most common reason for examination was blood pressure measurement in 15(7.81%) patients. No adverse events were recorded in either group.
Conclusion: The mHealth application with two-way patient-doctor communication represents an additional intervention to standard care that can reduce the need for “face-to-face"visits with a family doctor and provides an opportunity for better organization of work in family doctor outpatient clinics.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Sashka Janevska, Atanas Gogjoski, Biljana Gerasimovska, Katerina Kovachevikj, Katerina Ristoska
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