NEW cutting edge health services are being rolled out across Dorset GP surgeries to combat risks around heart failure and disease – in a move that will also relieve pressure on the healthcare system.

A 'breakthrough' remote patient monitoring platform, called Hypertension Plus (H+) is to be used by Dorset’s Clinical Commissioning Group to help doctors and patients better manage and treat high blood pressure and its related conditions.

It allows NHS clinicians manage a patient’s medication plan remotely, based on the patient’s home blood pressure results.

The platform, developed by OMRON Healthcare enables patients to regularly enter readings from home, which are delivered to GPs via the cloud. H+ then automatically creates highly tailored medication and treatment programmes for doctors to review and enact as they see fit.

This has a number of benefits including relieving GP appointment times, reducing Covid exposure risks, and improving patient outcomes. It is part of a wider move around digitally transforming the NHS.

The Dorset CCG recently took delivery of 2,000 OMRON Healthcare blood pressure monitors, as part of this drive.

Dorset surgeries are among 150 UK practices included in the roll out phase – managed by clinical commission groups (CCGs) – with further CCGs encouraged to join the initiative.

This, combined with a wealth of home blood pressure devices made available through the NHS at Home initiative, will equip practitioners and patients alike with the latest digital tools to manage hypertension. Once rolled out across the UK, it is estimated that Hypertension Plus will save significant GP time and that up to a third of appointments for hypertension could be freed up, according to estimation by the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC).

Paul Stevens, Connected Services and Solutions Director of OMRON Healthcare Europe said: “Even before the current pandemic, long-term chronic disease management was creating significant strain on healthcare systems, with a shortage in healthcare professionals the norm across Europe. Hypertension Plus enables doctors to adjust the intake of prescription medication remotely and empowers patients to actively manage their condition to achieve a significant blood pressure reduction, which may result in significantly lower rates of heart attacks and strokes throughout the UK and Europe.”