Automatized follow-up and alert system for patients with chronic hypertension

• Published in: Health informatics journal 2020-12, Vol.26 (4), p.2625-2636
• Main Authors: Urrea, Claudio, Venegas, Daniel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Blood pressure; Chronic illnesses; Hypertension; Monitoring systems; Smartphones; Wireless communications
• ISSN: 1460-4582; 1741-2811
• DOI: 10.1177/1460458219900446

This article presents the development and implementation of a monitoring system for patients with chronic hypertension. Technological advances in wireless communication are increasingly used today to send and receive information through smartphones. This also applies to devices for measuring blood pressure, which can be efficiently integrated with smartphones. Telemedicine is used in a variety of health fields, and in the past 5 years, it has extended its reach to the online monitoring of patients. The objective of this study is to create an integrated system capable of conducting the follow-up, through mobile communication (smartphones), of patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension. An iHealth equipment certified by the Food and Drug Administration is used. The blood pressure values from users are uploaded via Internet and stored in an integral system for processing. The monitoring system developed not only informs users about their disease status but also sends them alerts generated during monitoring. This work uses the telecommunication technology existing through smartphones. The integrated system developed ensures the follow-up of the blood pressure of a large number of users. In addition, this system can be further applied to diseases such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The system developed was easy to use and efficient to monitor patients with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure.