Using COSTAR to Assist Nurses in Hypertension Screening and Education

COSTAR, a Computer-Stored Ambulatory Medical Record system, has been in use in the Family Practice/Primary Care Clinic, Pease Air Force Base, N.H., since November 1981. This paper describes a computer-based program to assist nurses in managing a hypertension screening and education program for known and suspected hypertensives. The program includes: 1) data record for five day blood pressure screening and patient education data; 2) a patient-specific instruction sheet containing information about the patient's medications and diet; 3) a drug interaction check list advising the nurse of potential interactions of drugs active for that patient. Patients' evaluations of the computer-generated instruction sheet are included.