Reports From the Field: Lack of communication increases cardiovascular risk
July 1, 2002
Reports From the Field: Lack of communication increases cardiovascular risk
Medicaid recipients with high blood pressure who live in the southeast, minorities, and low-income people are at an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease according to data presented at the 17th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension.
Many of these patients in high-risk categories do not efficiently communicate with their health care providers, leading to a reduction in favorable health outcomes, says Brian Egan, MD, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
The majority of Medicaid patients studied did not fill prescriptions for medicine after they were discharged from the hospital, the researchers concluded.
"The data confirm the impressions that hypertensive Medicaid patients are at higher risk for major cardiovascular disease leading to hospital admissions. The high admission and readmission rates are associated with suboptimal use of prescribed medications," Egan says.
Research suggests that the majority of Medicaid patients do not get proper guidance about prescriptions and the importance of maintaining medical therapy, he adds.
The researchers obtained data from billing records on hospitalization and prescription medication after hospital discharge. They found that hospital readmission rates for hypertensive Medicaid patients were relatively high over the two-year observation period following hospital discharge. Many of the patients have diabetes in addition to hypertension.
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