High blood pressure management requires a coordinated effort of front-line health care providers and physicians with documented hypertension expertise.

To improve hypertension management in Mississippi, the MSDH Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program is collaborating with the American Society of Hypertension to implement the Mississippi Hypertension Specialist Initiative.

About the Initiative

The Mississippi Hypertension Specialist Initiative is a unique, population-based quality improvement initiative geared toward improving cardiovascular health outcomes of Mississippians. The goals of the Initiative are to:

• Increase physicians' knowledge and skills in managing complex and treatment-resistant hypertension.
• Increase the number of designated hypertension specialists in Mississippi. Hypertension specialists are recognized physicians with expert skills and knowledge in managing clinical hypertension.
• Increase the utilization of the American Society of Hypertension's (ASH) Hypertension Registry in Mississippi.
• Improve clinical outcomes in patients with hypertension.

Benefits

To accomplish our goals, the MSDH Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program is offering:

• Free qualifying exams: Fees for the 2012 Qualifying Examination for Specialists in Clinical Hypertension will be waived for the first 30 eligible physicians who agree to participate in the Hypertension Registry Initiative.
• Free patient education resources: Printed materials from the Mississippi State Department of Health. View and order »

Apply Now

To apply for a fee waiver, complete the following documents:

• Application for 2012 Qualifying Examination for Specialists in Clinical Hypertension
  Non-Specialists may qualify with a letter documenting experience in treating a large population of hypertension patients.
• Outpatient Quality Improvement Network Participation Agreement
• Business Associate Agreement

and return to the following address by March 30, 2012:

Mississippi State Department of Health
Office of Preventive Health
Attention: Augusta Bilbro
570 East Woodrow Wilson, Osborne 208
Jackson, MS 39215-1700

Resources

Links

• Becoming a Hypertension Specialist American Society of Hypertension
• Qualifying Examination Handbook and Application
• ASH Hypertension Registry
• ASH Directory of Hypertension Specialists

• Fact Sheet: the Mississippi Hypertension Specialist Initiative

Publications

To learn more about the Hypertension Specialist Initiative, see this article in the August 2011 issue of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension.

• Impacting Population Cardiovascular Health Through a Community-Based Practice Network
  Update on an ASH-Supported Collaborative article (Journal of Clinical Hypertension, August 2011)

For more detailed information about the Mississippi Hypertension Specialist Initiative, please contact the MSDH Office of Preventive Health at 601-576-7781.