Background: Hypertension (HT) is a global health problem since it is a cause of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events. Despite various therapeutic options available, many patients fail to achieve target blood pressure (BP). A major concern is the discontinuity of care whether it is caused by healthcare systems or patient factors. Quality and seamless care with the intra-institute partnership might lead to a higher rate of BP controlled.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a “Seamless Hypertensive Care model” in terms of BP controlled rate.

Materials and Methods: “Seamless Hypertensive Care model” was established in 2013. The hospital’s HT workflow was developed by a multidisciplinary team and has been adopted by every department. Once a patient is found to have BP >180/110 mmHg, he or she will be sent to the emergency department (ED). After BP was lowered by 20%, they will be discharged home and scheduled for a follow-up in the 1st and 12th weeks. The effectiveness of the care model in terms of BP controlled rate from January 2016 to December 2019 was analyzed.

Results: Total of 1,277 HT patients were sent to the ED. There were 243, 269, 312, and 261 patients who came for a 12th week follow-up in the 4 consecutive years (2016 to 2019). BP control rate (<140/90 mmHg) increased year by year (56.6%, 62.7%, 62.7, and 67.7%, respectively). The complications including strokes and kidney diseases occurred in 0.74% of the total follow-up patients (8/1,085).

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated the effectiveness of a “Seamless Hypertensive Care model” for increasing the BP
controlled rate.

Keywords: Hypertensive crisis, Hypertension, Thai, Care process