Hypertension Case Finding Service now available in Pharmacy Services

We are pleased to inform you that Pharmacy Services now includes the Hypertension Case Finding Service. This service aims to identify individuals who may be at risk of hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure, and provide them with necessary support and monitoring.

In response to the NHS's recent announcement, we're proud to inform you about significant changes to the Hypertension Case-Finding Advanced service, effective from September 1. Moving forward, all payment claims for this service will need be processed exclusively through an assured IT system, facilitated by the MYS Blood Pressure Check Service Data & Payment API. This digital transition ensures accuracy and efficiency while signaling the end of manual claiming options for service provisions.

We're pleased to share that we have completed the assurance for the Blood Pressure Check Service Data & Payment API in collaboration with MYS. This accomplishment reaffirms our dedication to ensuring you meet the needs of your patients whilst leveraging potential services opportunities and revenue.

The Hypertension Case-Finding Service underscores the importance of early detection and proactive monitoring of hypertension, by identifying individuals at risk and facilitating appropriate measurement and monitoring, the service aims to improve health outcomes, raise awareness about hypertension, and support timely intervention and treatment when needed.

Time-saving automation - GP updates 

The approach we have taken in development of this service not only helps improve patient care but also offers advantages in terms of saving time and therefore generating revenue for your pharmacy. Pharmacies tell us that the weekly updates to GPs to confirm patients who have accessed the service are really time-consuming, so we’ve automated this task.

By ensuring reporting to GPs happens automatically within the Pharmacy Service workflow, information to the GP is updated on schedule and without any manual data entry or data collation from pharmacy staff, allowing them instead to dedicate their efforts towards essential dispensing activity and delivery of more patient services.

Time-saving monitoring and clinical decision support 

Pharmacy Services also includes built-in clinical decision support that helps reduce the risk of selecting the wrong patient outcome. Pharmacists are guided towards the suggested outcome based on the blood pressure reading and symptoms entered, ensuring accurate decision-making and improved patient safety.

The dashboard presents active episodes in a clear overview of patients currently undergoing Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM), utilising colour-coded statuses to indicate which patients have an ABPM device and which ones are awaiting fitting. This visual representation allows pharmacists to quickly identify the status of each patient, enhancing efficiency and saving time during the monitoring process.

MYS Claim Reporting

In addition, Pharmacy Services enables pharmacy staff to generate a simple report that contains all the necessary data for MYS claiming. The report is structured in the same order as the MYS portal, making it quick and easy for the information to be entered into the portal.

This feature streamlines the claiming process, reducing administrative burden and improving workflow efficiency, whilst we wait for the NHS BSA to release the MYS API for this service in late Summer ahead of the new mandate for 1^st September automated claiming. Once in place, the MYS API will enable automated claiming, further reducing the manual effort for your pharmacy team.

Hypertension case-finding service

The service consists of two stages. In the first stage, individuals who are deemed at risk of hypertension are identified. This may include people with specific risk factors such as a family history of hypertension, obesity, smoking, or other relevant health conditions. These individuals are invited to the pharmacy for a blood pressure measurement. Any patient over 40 without a current diagnosis of hypertension can be offered this service, you may also receive patients who have been redirected from their GP.

In the first stage, blood pressure readings are taken to determine a clinic reading for the patient. If clinically indicated, it may be necessary to move to the second stage of the service which involves offering 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) to those individuals who may require further investigation. The ABPM stage involves the patient wearing a portable blood pressure monitor that automatically measures blood pressure at regular intervals throughout the day and night. This comprehensive monitoring provides a more accurate assessment of an individual's blood pressure patterns, as it takes into account variations during daily activities and sleep.

Once the blood pressure measurements are obtained, the results are shared with the patient's GP. This information is crucial so records can be updated and appropriate action taken.

Pharmacy Services

Pharmacy Services seamlessly integrates into your workflows, allowing you to access it anytime, from any device. It presents relevant information through easy-to-digest dashboards that clearly highlight next actions, streamlining your workflow.

Starting with the CPCS, Pharmacy Services has rapidly expanded its support to include services such as NMS, Flu Vaccinations, Pharmacy Contraception Service and now the Hypertension Case-Finding Service. All services are included in our Pharmacy Manager Advanced and Ultimate Packages, providing comprehensive support for your pharmacy practice. 

For more information about the Hypertension Case-Finding Service itself, the CPE has information which you can find here.

If you haven't had the opportunity to explore our web-based Pharmacy Services platform, we would be delighted to show you the solution within an in-person demonstration. Our aim is to ensure that you can see first-hand the benefits and functionalities it offers to enhance your pharmacy operations.