Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40796251›Full record

ArticleAmerican journal of hypertension2026

Translating Guidelines, Protocols, and Care Pathways for Hypertension Into Effective Program Implementation.

Pedro Ordunez, Sonia Y Angell, Donald J DiPette, Jeffrey Brettler, Norm R C Campbell, Marc G Jaffe, Niamh Chapman, Andres Rosende, Grace Marie Ku, Esteban Londoño and 2 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in American journal of hypertension, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Evolution in the targets for blood pressure treatment.Current opinion in nephrology and hypertension · 2026
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Pedro OrdunezDepartment of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9871-6845
Sonia Y AngellJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6031-910X
Donald J DiPetteDepartment of Medicine, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5762-9104
Jeffrey BrettlerSouthern California Permanente Medical Group, Department of Health Systems Science, Regional Hypertension Program, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, Pasadena, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2069-9643
Norm R C CampbellDepartment of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-1093-4742
Marc G JaffeDepartment of Endocrinology, The Permanente Medical Group, Kaiser San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, California, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5049-7815
Niamh ChapmanSchool of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-6317-5594
Andres RosendeDepartment of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8173-0686
Grace Marie KuDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0002-4276-9104
Esteban LondoñoDepartment of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3254-3651
Daniel José PiñeiroDepartment of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.ORCID 0000-0002-0126-8194
Paul K WheltonDepartment of Epidemiology, Tulane University Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2225-383X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInconsistent terminology and conceptual overlap among clinical practice guidelines, treatment protocols, and care pathways can lead to confusion in program design and implementation.

methodsDrawing on the implementation experience of HEARTS in the Americas-the largest regional adaptation of the WHO Global HEARTS Initiative-this communication describes the characteristics, functions, and interrelationships of clinical practice guidelines, treatment protocols, and care pathways. It outlines their respective roles in development, approval, and execution to clarify their contributions to both health system organization and clinical practice.

resultsClinical practice guidelines are composed of evidence-based recommendations grounded in rigorous scientific evaluation to support clinical decision-making. Care pathways serve as implementation tools that translate guidelines into standardized, multidisciplinary plans that organize hypertension management, facilitate task-sharing, and engage patients. Embedded within pathways, treatment protocols offer a simplified, step-by-step approach tailored to most patients, specifying a limited set of medications and dosages to ensure timely blood pressure control, reduce therapeutic inertia, and promote consistent care delivery.

conclusionsClarifying the distinctions and synergies among guidelines, protocols, and care pathways might enhance alignment between clinical guidance and service delivery, supporting effective implementation and scale-up of hypertension and chronic disease management programs.

Indexed as

Antihypertensive AgentsBlood PressureClinical ProtocolsCritical PathwaysHypertensionPractice Guidelines as TopicEvidence-Based MedicineHumansAntihypertensive Agentsblood pressurecare pathwaysclinical practice guidelineshypertensionprimary carequality improvementtreatment protocols

Identifiers

PMID40796251
PMCPMC12802930

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.