Blood pressure (BP) is controlled in only 34% of patients with high BP, leading to unnecessary strokes, myocardial infarctions and other cardiovascular events. BP control can be improved with physician/pharmacist collaborative management (PPCM). Our long-range goal is to achieve excellent BP control rates using PPCM that can be implemented in private practices in diverse communities. Our model achieved 89% BP control in an efficacy trial and suggests that PPCM might overcome typical racial and socioeconomic barriers. The objective is to conduct a large multi-center clinical trial in clinics with geographic, racial and ethnic diversity to determine the extent to which the model is implemented. This practice-based research network (PBRN) is unique with a large minority population and great diversity in operation and community size.
This prospective, cluster-randomized trial uses 27 clinics, matched and randomized to the active intervention (2 groups) or a control group. Following 9 months of the intervention, one group will continue the intervention following 9 months while the other will discontinue it. We will also randomize 18 patients per clinic into a passive observation group (n=486) to determine if PPCM is implemented more broadly in the clinic. Patients in all three groups will be followed for 24 months. Our innovative approach addresses critical organizational barriers and challenges existing approaches to achieving better BP control. We expect that our study will find a 6-8mm Hg difference in systolic BP which would lead to 20-30% fewer coronary deaths and 25-40% fewer stroke deaths if applied across broadly across similar settings.