Measure Up/Pressure Down Campaign Contributes to High Blood Pressure Education Month

Newswise — ALEXANDRIA, VA―The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) and the American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) today unveiled two major resources for healthcare providers, patients, employers, and other stakeholders as part of the Measure Up/Pressure Down campaign to improve high blood pressure prevention, detection, and control. May is National High Blood Pressure Month and Stroke Awareness Month and provides an opportunity to improve care by engaging patients, physicians, communities, and the media in the campaign’s efforts to address this national health issue.

AMGA and AMGF has launched a new website to provide resources for healthcare professionals, patients, family members, and others as part of the national Measure Up/Pressure Down campaign to help increase high blood pressure awareness. At www.MeasureUpPressureDown.com, visitors can find resources and information on how to prevent and manage high blood pressure and can take a pledge to do their part to raise awareness and reduce the dangers of high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a leading cause of strokes, heart disease, and diabetes complications. One in three or an estimated 67 million U.S. adults have high blood pressure. The website provides tools to help patients manage high blood pressure and educational resources for both patients and providers.

In concert with the website, AMGA and AMGF also released a toolkit to help providers attain the Measure Up/Pressure Down campaign goal to achieve 80% of their patient population with high blood pressure in control by 2016. The toolkit provides useful tools, tips, and resources to help jump-start a hypertension quality improvement initiative and get organizations on the road to achieving better control rates. Contributing groups include Cleveland Clinic, Fletcher Allen Healthcare/University of Vermont, Kaiser Permanente, Mercy Clinics, PriMed Physicians, Providence Medical Group, Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group, and ThedaCare.

The toolkit is organized around each of the eight campaign planks (care processes). For each plank, providers will find:

• Concise one-pagers with guidance including actionable steps and suggested resources for implementing the plank• Best practices tools used by some of the nation’s leading healthcare organizations• A recommended case study from AMGA’s Best Practices in Managing Hypertension Compendium for details on how the plank was implemented by medical groups that achieved significant improvements in their control rates “We are extremely pleased to release these new resources for consumers and providers,” said Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., AMGA president and chief executive officer and AMGF board secretary. “By providing tools to help providers improve care and patients better manage their health, we believe we can make a dramatic difference in the nation’s health.”

Measure Up/Pressure Down is also co-hosting an event related to National High Blood Pressure Education Month. In collaboration with campaign partner the American Kidney Fund, AMGA members Johns Hopkins Community Physicians, MedStar Physician Partners, and Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group will participate in a blood pressure and kidney disease screening event at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, May 14, 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. The event is open to the public and will be held on the plaza area outside HHS headquarters located at 200 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC.

About Measure Up/Pressure DownThe American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF), the nonprofit arm of the American Medical Group Association, launched Measure Up/Pressure Down-a three-year national campaign to improve care and reduce the burden of high blood pressure on November 29, 2012. Measure Up/Pressure Down includes more than 140 medical groups, health systems and national organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Million Hearts initiative, American Heart Association, Association of Black Cardiologists, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and Geisinger Health System. The goal of the three-year campaign is to have 80 percent of high blood pressure patients in control of their condition by 2016. www.MeasureUpPressureDown.com

About AMGFThe American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the American Medical Group Association and it supports and disseminates research on better ways to deliver health care that is scientifically sound and value-based. AMGF also develops and supports educational programs to enable all stakeholders-providers, payers, policymakers and patients to translate the evidence of what works best into everyday practice. www.amga.org/foundation

About AMGAThe American Medical Group Association represents some of the nation's largest, most prestigious medical practices, independent practice associations, accountable care organizations, and integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA's mission is to support its members in enhancing population health and care for patients through integrated systems of care. More than 130,000 physicians practice in AMGA member organizations, providing healthcare services for 120 million patients (approximately one in three Americans). Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for these organizations, providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs, publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. www.amga.org