: It seems that computers have a favourable effect on the uptake and follow up of patients in hypertension management .
STUDY OBJECTIVE : To assess the effect of computers and computer-based clinical decision support systems on the  management of hypertension .
Randomised controlled trial of computer-held medical records in hypertensive patients.
A total of 278 hypertensive patients in three clinics were r and omly allocated to have their medical records held in a computer system ( 136 ) or on st and ard hospital notes ( 142 ) . For the computer system the doctor completed a structured input form , and the information on symptoms , physical findings , and diagnoses was more complete than that in the st and ard notes . This result ed in certain symptoms and risk factors being recognised more often when the computer system was used . The hypertension clinics ' routines were not disrupted by the introduction of a computer-held system , and follow-up consultation times were not affected by the type of records kept , although the first consultation took eight minutes longer when computer documents were completed . The patients remained in the trial for one year and clinical management was assessed from blood pressure control , drop-out rates , and the frequency of performing investigations . These estimates of management showed no significant difference between the two groups , but the attempt to tailor the computer system to help management made the system acceptable to the doctors using it . The computer system continues to be used and is providing data for research into hypertension
: It seems that computers have a favourable effect on the uptake and follow up of patients in hypertension management .
STUDY OBJECTIVE : To assess the effect of computers and computer-based clinical decision support systems on the  management of hypertension .