PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - T Fahey
AU  - T J Peters
TI  - Clinical guidelines and the management of hypertension: a between-practice and guideline comparison.
DP  - 1997 Nov 01
TA  - British Journal of General Practice
PG  - 729--730
VI  - 47
IP  - 424
4099  - http://bjgp.org/content/47/424/729.short
4100  - http://bjgp.org/content/47/424/729.full
SO  - Br J Gen Pract1997 Nov 01; 47
AB  - It has previously been demonstrated that individual general practitioners (GPs) diagnose and treat at different levels of blood pressure and according to different risk factor profiles. This study sought to examine the variation in the achievement of control of hypertension in a sample of 20 treated hypertensive patients in 18 UK general practices. There was a marked between-practice variation in the percentage of patients with controlled hypertension. Practices appear to apply different hypertension guidelines to patients consistently, with significant correlations across practices in seven out of ten possible guideline combinations. There remains marked variation in the management of hypertension between different general practices in the UK. Factors other than recommendations in guidelines appear to be responsible for this variation.