Screening for hypertension in family practice.

Although family doctors may be reasonably effective in screening their patients for hypertension, some patients are missed. We examined the characteristics of patients screened and not screened for hypertension in a teaching family practice. Office visits were sampled during a one-month period. For non-hypertensives, the overall rate of patients whose blood pressure was taken was 32%. However 89% of patients had a blood pressure measurement taken on that visit or had had one taken within the past two years. Blood pressure was taken less often in younger patients, patients with acute problems, drop-ins, and patients with orthopedic, dermatologic, traumatic or infectious diseases.