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HHS honors Hypertension Initiative of SC  The Hypertension Initiative of South Carolina has been awarded National Best Practice status by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services.  The honor was bestowed after rigorous review by scientists and physicians at the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, who determined what programs would be recognized as models for health care delivery. “Our reviewers were very impressed with this program. Compared to what else is going on around the country, it’s truly revolutionary,” said Larry E. Fields, M.D., assistant to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Hypertension Initiative uses a computerized database to track the  care people who have high blood pressure receive from their primary care physicians. Brent Egan, M.D., started the project in 1999 because he believed that if primary care doctors had an easy way to regularly track their patients with high blood pressure, they could adjust treatment more quickly to help these patients keep their blood pressure in a healthy range. Since blood pressure plays a central role in many serious health conditions including diabetes, stroke, and heart attack, keeping it in check is the key to preventing many deadly problems. Egan, MUSC professor of pharmacology and general internal medicine, started the initiative as a statewide health improvement program with funding from the Duke Endowment and Novartis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Word of the initiative’s success spread, and more physicians from around the Southeast and beyond are signing up. Currently, the Hypertension Initiative database tracks the care of about 80,000 patients who are seen by more than 250 doctors.  Four times a year, participating physicians receive graphic reports on medications, lab values, and health status among their patients with high blood pressure. The reports serve as a reality check to help doctors see exactly how well their hypertensive patients are doing and whether their care could be changed for the better. Best of all, because the project is fully funded by grants, participation is free for any primary care provider who wants to join. For more information or to join the Hypertension Initiative contact Katharine H. Hendrix, Ph.D., Hypertension Initiative, MUSC, 96 Jonathan Lucas Street, 826 CSB, Charleston, SC 29425. Hendrix can also be reached at 792-6340; fax, 792-0816, or e-mail hendrikh@musc.edu. Or contact Brent M. Egan, M.D., Hypertension Initiative, MUSC, 96 Jonathan Lucas Street, 826 CSB, Charleston, SC 29425. Egan can also be reached at 792-1715; fax, 792-0816, or e-mail eganbm@musc.edu.       Friday, April 9, 2004 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.