Needs Assessment for the Computer-interpretable Hypertension Guideline at Public Health Centers in Korea

Computer-interpretable hypertension guidelines can make for the improvement of blood pressure control rate by assisting clinicians at the point-of-service to behave according to the evidence-based guidelines. We surveyed 117 public health centers in Korea to evaluate current hypertension management status with clinicians' performance, and to analyze the needs for the computer-interpretable hypertension guidelines. Hypertension control rate was 57%, while clinicians overestimated it as 79.5%. 60.4% of patients were treated with 2 or more anti-hypertensive medications, and most frequently used drug class was calcium channel blocker. Inappropriate prescription rate of contraindicated patients was 2.6%. Two-thirds of clinicians agreed to implement the computer-interpretable hypertension guideline. Implementation of computer-interpretable hypertension guideline is considered as a way to improve the hypertension control rate and to reduce the inappropriateness of the therapeutic choice.