Home and Online Management and Evaluation of Blood Pressure (HOME BP) using a digital intervention in poorly controlled hypertension: randomised controlled trial

Dear Editor

The article by Professor Richard J McManus and colleagues on ‘self-management’ of hypertension [1] is very timely.

This timeliness comes, first, from the fact that the rapid spread of COVID-19 diverts individuals from ‘in-person’ encounters with a GP or Hospital staffs. Instead of face-to face meetings, people now go to NHS online mass diagnostics apps. For example, on a massive scale people are benefiting from access to NHS 111 https://111.nhs.uk/Question/Navigation. For instance, a person may investigate online their own symptoms by ticking a box to answer questions relating to a diagnosis. Reassuring the individual, the app says “The more questions there are the less serious’ the matter is ‘ likely to be’. Furthermore, this app may advise a person to ‘self- isolate’ and explain to the individual what to do during self-isolation.

The second point is that any person who has gone through self isolation will no doubt find the online self-management of hypertension a happier experience by far.

Reference
1) BMJ 2021;372:m4858