Control of hypertension in family practice by the doctor-nurse team.

In Israel, most hypertensives are treated by the family doctor alone. In 45 family practices, nurses were given a more active part to play in the follow-up of these patients, including measuring weight and blood pressure, giving dietary guidance, checking patient compliance and actively following up drop-outs. After two years' follow-up, of a total of 4,255 patients studied, 82.4 per cent were under control (diastolic blood pressure less than 95 mmHg) compared to 42.1 per cent at the onset of the study. The drop-out rate was 0.65 per cent.