The current state and future of internet technology-based hypertension management in Japan

Internet-based information and communication technology is altering our lives. Although medicine is traditionally conservative, it can benefit in many ways from adopting new technology and styles of care. Hypertension is a prime condition for the practical application of digital health management because it is prevalent and undercontrolled, and its primary index, home blood pressure, can be effectively telemonitored. Compared to other conditions that require laboratory measures or the use of drugs with frequent side effects, hypertension can be managed without actual office visits with sufficiently low risk. In this review of hypertension in Japan, we discuss the current and somewhat fragmented state of internet technology and the components and processes necessary for smooth, integrated, and multidisciplinary care in the future. Although further clinical trials are required to show the safety and efficacy of information and communication technology-based care for hypertension, the deployment of telemonitoring and telemedicine in daily practice should be expedited to solve the hypertension paradox. Challenges remain relating to cost, data integration, the redesigning of team-based care, and the improvement of user experience, but information and communication technology-based hypertension management is sure to become pivotal in improving public health.