Researcher awarded $2.2M grant for development of simple, easy-to-read BP display

Richelle Koopman, MD, has received a $2.2 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for the development of an easy-to-read BP display, according to a press release.

Koopman, associate professor of family and community medicine at the University of Missouri School of Medicine, designed a display that includes both in-office and at-home BP data, BP targets and text summarizations of the data within the electronic health records system, according to the release.

“A clear display will help patients better understand a pattern of their BP so they can work with the doctor to make good decisions,” Koopman said in the release. “It is important to have the display at the point of care in the exam room during the crucial few moments of the appointment, when the doctor and patient can freely discuss the problem and interact … We can summarize the data in a very effective way that both the patient and physician can understand and talk about.”

The grant will be used to fund the development of the display over the course of a multiyear study led by Koopman. Researchers will design the tool during the first 3 years of the study, and evaluate it through physician and patient use during the subsequent 2 years. According to the release, the display will be designed to improve understanding of and involvement with care among patients with low health literacy.

The development process will be conducted in collaboration with other researchers from University of Missouri, as well as the University of Wisconsin and Oregon Health Science University, according to the release.