Table 1.
Characteristics of beneficiaries with an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring claim, overall and by the presence of an elevated blood pressure without hypertension diagnosis on the ABPM claim
| Characteristics |
Overall cohort (N = 20 875) |
Elevated BP without HTN Diagnosis on ABPM claim | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Absent (n = 10 537) |
Present (n = 10 338) |
P value | ||
| Beneficiary | ||||
| Age, years | ||||
| 18‐35 | 2895 (13.9%) | 1440 (13.7%) | 1455 (14.1%) | .11 |
| 36‐50 | 6454 (30.9%) | 3202 (30.4%) | 3252 (31.4%) | |
| 51‐64 | 11 504 (55.1%) | 5881 (55.8%) | 5623 (54.4%) | |
| ≥65 | 22 (0.1%) | 14 (0.1%) | 8 (0.1%) | |
| Female sex | 10 963 (52.5%) | 5551 (52.7%) | 5412 (52.4%) | .63 |
| History of elevated BP without HTN | 6906 (33.1%) | 3458 (32.8%) | 3448 (33.4%) | .41 |
| History of HTN | 13 732 (65.8%) | 6910 (65.6%) | 6822 (66.0%) | .53 |
| History of DM | 2780 (13.3%) | 1417 (13.4) | 1363 (13.2) | .58 |
| History of CKD | 1212 (5.8%) | 607 (5.8%) | 605 (5.9%) | .78 |
| History of CHD | 1771 (8.5%) | 907 (8.6%) | 864 (8.4%) | .52 |
| No. of antihypertensivesd | ||||
| Beneficiaries with pharmacy benefits | 17 879 (85.7%) | 9149 (86.8%) | 8730 (84.4%) | |
| 0 | 10 444 (59.0%) | 5394 (59.0%) | 5050 (57.9%) | .28 |
| 1‐2 | 5844 (32.4%) | 2961 (32.3%) | 2883 (33.0%) | |
| ≥3 | 1591 (8.6) | 794 (8.7%) | 797 (9.1%) | |
| Region | ||||
| Northeast | 8437 (40.4%) | 3410 (32.4%) | 5027 (48.6%) | <.0001 |
| North Central | 3417 (16.4%) | 1789 (17.0%) | 1628 (15.8%) | |
| South | 6015 (28.8%) | 3567 (33.8%) | 2448 (23.7%) | |
| West | 2781 (13.3%) | 1654 (15.7%) | 1127 (10.9%) | |
| Unknown | 225 (1.1%) | 117 (1.1%) | 108 (1.0%) | |
| Type of benefit plan | ||||
| HMO | 2367 (11.3%) | 1255 (11.9%) | 1112 (10.8%) | <.0001 |
| POS | 1707 (8.2%) | 813 (7.7%) | 894 (8.6%) | |
| PPO | 12 671 (60.7%) | 6354 (60.3%) | 6317 (61.1%) | |
| CDHP | 1461 (7.0%) | 811 (7.7%) | 650 (6.3%) | |
| Othersc | 2669 (12.8%) | 1304 (12.4%) | 1365 (13.2%) | |
| ABPM factors | ||||
| Reimbursed ABPM claim | 16 920 (81.0%) | 8507 (80.7%) | 8413 (81.4%) | .24 |
| ABPM procedure claim type | ||||
| Full procedure | 15 216 (72.9%) | 7363 (69.9%) | 7853 (76.0%) | <.0001 |
| Components | 5659 (27.1%) | 3174 (30.1%) | 2485 (24.0%) | |
| Provider factors | ||||
| ABPM claim filed under generalista | 8180 (39.2%) | 3779 (35.9%) | 4401 (42.6%) | <.0001 |
| ABPM claim filed under specialistb | 8112 (38.9%) | 3918 (37.2%) | 4194 (40.6%) | <.0001 |
| Place of service | ||||
| Office | 16 579 (79.4%) | 8151 (77.4%) | 8428 (81.5%) | <.0001 |
| Outpatient hospital | 3912 (18.7%) | 2055 (19.5%) | 1857 (18.0%) | |
| Ambulatory Surgical Center | 189 (0.9%) | 188 (1.8%) | 1 (0.00%) | |
| Others | 195 (1.0%) | 143 (1.3%) | 52 (0.5%) | |
Data are presented as N (%).
Abbreviations: ABPM, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring; BP, blood pressure; CDHP, consumer‐directed health plan; CHD, coronary heart disease; CKD, chronic kidney disease; DM, diabetes mellitus; HMO, health maintenance organization; HTN, hypertension; POS, point of service; and PPO, preferred provider organization.
Generalists include Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Geriatrics.
Specialists include cardiology and nephrology.
Others include Basic/major medical, Comprehensive, Exclusive Provider Organization and High‐deductible health plan.
Measured as number of antihypertensive classes filled at any time during the 365‐day lookback period; the denominator for percentages includes only those beneficiaries having pharmacy benefits.