{"id":352,"date":"2019-12-02T14:19:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-02T14:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pmsinstruments.co.uk\/blog\/?p=352"},"modified":"2019-12-02T14:21:26","modified_gmt":"2019-12-02T14:21:26","slug":"save-time-and-money-one-measurement-at-a-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pmsinstruments.co.uk\/blog\/save-time-and-money-one-measurement-at-a-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Save time and money one measurement at a time"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At\naround \u00a31,500.00 is the A&D TM-2657P waiting room blood pressure still worth\nthe money?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self patient blood pressure measurement\ndevices like the A&D TM-2657P are not new and there are now several hundred\nin use in the UK since they were first introduced by PMS Instruments 17 years\nago in 2002. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sited in the waiting room, for many\nPractices they are an integral part of their long term medical conditions clinics\nallowing them to work smarter, not harder, whilst helping patients take\nownership of their conditions and play a more active role in their treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of GP practices have adapted established\nprotocols whereby patients pass their blood pressure results to the reception\nteam and are then advised as to whether there is a need for further clinical follow\nup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protocol needs to be easy to follow and\ncomprehensive to ensure that the receptionist is taking no responsibility for a\nclinical decision. When implemented correctly, after suitable training the\nprocess works very well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why\nis all this relevant to Primary Care and the NHS?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When this type of service is introduced anecdotal\nevidence from PMS Instruments GP customers suggests that waiting room BP\nmonitors are used by up to 240 patients every month and only 80 of them require\nany further intervention. This represents a potential \u201csaving\u201d of over 160 face\nto face GP clinical appointments.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s\ndo some maths!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to NHS England, the average GP\nappointment costs \u00a330 so in the example above that\u2019s a saving of \u00a34800 to the\nNHS every month. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the payback period in terms of time\nsaved and the initial \u00a31500 cost of the monitor is established but what are the\nother benefits?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s\nabout time.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a report published in Pulse in\nAugust 2019, over half of GPs have said the average waiting time for non-urgent\nappointments at their practice is now over two weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anything that can help reduce this must be\na good thing and waiting room blood pressure monitors like the TM-2657P can.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the protocol above Doctors and nurses\nwho want to monitor a patient\u2019s blood pressure ask the patient to use the\nwaiting room BP monitor and they only need to see a Doctor if their readings\nmove out of an agreed range. Patients can do this at any time the practice is\nopen freeing up valuable appointment time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nurses who run chronic disease clinics can\nalso ask patients to monitor their blood pressure before coming to their\nclinic. Apart from saving nursing time it gives an immediate focus to the\nconsultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public Health England\nand NHS England have agreed ambitions and a goal over a 10 year period to improve\nthe detection and treatment of high blood pressure with the following targets<\/p>\n\n\n\n