Team-based care increased the proportion of people with controlled BP  and reduced both systolic and diastolic BP , especially when pharmacists and nurses were part of the team .
CONTEXT Uncontrolled hypertension remains a widely prevalent cardiovascular risk factor in the U.S. team-based care , established by adding new staff or changing the roles of existing staff such as nurses and pharmacists to work with a primary care provider and the patient .
Team-based care has the potential to improve the quality of hypertension management .
The goal of this Community Guide systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of team-based care in improving blood pressure ( BP ) outcomes .
Medical Clinics Versus Usual Care for Patients With Both Diabetes and Hypertension
BACKGROUND Group medical clinics ( GMCs ) are widely used in the management of diabetes and hypertension , but data on their effectiveness are limited . OBJECTIVE To test the effectiveness of GMCs in the management of comorbid diabetes and hypertension . DESIGN R and omized , controlled trial . ( Clinical Trials.gov registration number : NCT00286741 ) SETTING 2 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers in North Carolina and Virginia . PATIENTS 239 patients with poorly controlled diabetes ( hemoglobin A(1c ) [ HbA(1c ) ] level > or = 7.5 % ) and hypertension ( systolic blood pressure > 140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure > 90 mm Hg ) . INTERVENTION Patients were r and omly assigned within each center to either attend a GMC or receive usual care . Clinics comprised 7 to 8 patients and a care team that consisted of a primary care general internist , a pharmacist , and a nurse or other certified diabetes educator . Each session included structured group interactions moderated by the educator . The pharmacist and physician adjusted medication to manage each patient 's HbA(1c ) level and blood pressure . MEASUREMENTS Hemoglobin A(1c ) level and systolic blood pressure , measured by blinded research personnel at baseline , study midpoint ( median , 6.8 months ) , and study completion ( median follow-up , 12.8 months ) . Linear mixed models , adjusted for clustering within GMCs , were used to compare HbA(1c ) levels and systolic blood pressure between the intervention and control groups . RESULTS Mean baseline systolic blood pressure and HbA(1c ) level were 152.9 mm Hg ( SD , 14.2 ) and 9.2 % ( SD , 1.4 ) , respectively . At the end of the study , mean systolic blood pressure improved by 13.7 mm Hg in the GMC group and 6.4 mm Hg in the usual care group ( P = 0.011 by linear mixed model ) , whereas mean HbA(1c ) level improved by 0.8 % in the GMC group and 0.5 % in the usual care group ( P = 0.159 ) . LIMITATION Measurements of effectiveness may have been limited by concomitant improvements in the usual care group that were due to co-intervention . CONCLUSION Group medical clinics are a potent strategy for improving blood pressure but not HbA(1c ) level in diabetic patients . PRIMARY FUNDING SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Service
Team-based care increased the proportion of people with controlled BP  and reduced both systolic and diastolic BP , especially when pharmacists and nurses were part of the team .
CONTEXT Uncontrolled hypertension remains a widely prevalent cardiovascular risk factor in the U.S. team-based care , established by adding new staff or changing the roles of existing staff such as nurses and pharmacists to work with a primary care provider and the patient .
Team-based care has the potential to improve the quality of hypertension management .
The goal of this Community Guide systematic review was to examine the effectiveness of team-based care in improving blood pressure ( BP ) outcomes .