Using tech to monitor your health at home

Report - 27 April 2022

People with high blood pressure are increasingly being asked to monitor their condition at home. Find out what people think of using technology to keep tabs on their health and how they think the NHS can improve support.

People increasingly use remote medical technologies to keep tabs on their health. Blood pressure monitors are one of the many fast-growing solutions that can help people monitor and improve their health in the comfort of their own homes.

NHS Digital asked Healthwatch England (HWE) to help them evaluate their remote blood pressure monitoring pilot (BP@Home) to understand peoples’ experiences of remote blood pressure monitoring and how GPs use their readings.

With the help of five local Healthwatch areas (Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Darlington and Hammersmith and Fulham), HWE supported around 500 people to share their experiences. 

People told HWE that there are many benefits to blood pressure monitoring at home, including peace of mind, feeling in control, and convenience. But there are serious questions about whether the real benefits of better health outcomes are being realised.

HWE found that there are vital gaps in GP processes that negatively impact patients’ experiences. This is demotivating for people and means opportunities to address blood pressure problems could be missed.

Downloads

File download
The public’s experience of monitoring their blood pressure at home
Download (PDF 424 KB)

You might also be interested in

“Our Stories, Our Voices: The Power of Lived Experience” with ‘Gifted Women’

Healthwatch Plymouth were invited to a drop-in workshop with a group of women working with ‘Gifted Women’ – a charity for women who are rebuilding their lives after substance misuse, homelessness and contact with the criminal justice system – to learn more about their experiences with local health and social care services.
Find out more