Changes in ambulatory testing for hypertensive patients 1971-1980

To determine temporal changes in the outpatient use of diagnostic tests, the authors studied ambulatory testing for 208 patients diagnosed with uncomplicated hypertension, cared for by 15 private office internists in 1971 through 1980. Patients diagnosed and treated earlier in the decade tended to have significantly higher blood pressure. After adjustment for blood pressure, use of diagnostic tests in terms of total charges for testing per patient per year peaked between 1973-74 and thereafter remained fairly stable at a level slightly lower than that in 1973-74. Considering the decade as a whole, use of tests was generally greater for patients with higher blood pressure readings (P less than 0.05). These findings suggest that use of tests for hypertensive patients in outpatient settings is related to severity of disease. Although treatment of new patient groups may be one factor increasing medical costs, the use of tests per se may have stabilized for diseases in which the diagnostic technologies have remained stable.