Philadelphia, PA —April 28, 2026— Jefferson Health has been approved for funding by the Patient‑Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) through its Health Systems Implementation Initiative (HSII) to implement an evidence and team‑based approach to improving hypertension management across its primary care network.
Hypertension affects nearly half of all U.S. adults and remains a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death. While evidence‑based guidelines for managing high blood pressure are well established, consistently implementing them in everyday primary care remains a challenge. Barriers at the clinician, system, and patient levels often limit timely evaluation, treatment adjustment and sustained follow‑up.
“Our initiative directly addresses those gaps by introducing a comprehensive care model that strengthens blood pressure measurement and active management,” says Geoffrey Mills, MD, PhD, Elmer H. Funk, Jr. MD Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Vice Chair of Clinical Services, and Enterprise Medical Director for Primary Care Quality at Jefferson Health, and co-Principal Investigator for the project. “Moreover, our program will allow teams to partner with patients to empower them to manage their blood pressure more effectively.”
Jefferson Health has a strong foundation in hypertension management. Previous initiatives implemented in select primary care practices — through collaboration with American Heart Association’s TargetBP and American Medical Association’s MAP programs —demonstrated local success. With additional planning and support, these efforts have the potential for universal adoption at scale.
Accordingly, Jefferson Health has invested in systemwide enhancements led by primary care in partnership with population health, including improved data tracking and reporting, expanded staff training, standardized onboarding and clinical competencies, and more consistent workflows.
Jefferson Health’s new comprehensive initiative will be implemented across 145 primary care practices through a coordinated, team‑based care model. The work is informed by findings from PCORI-funded comparative clinical effectiveness research on clinic- and telehealth-based models of hypertension care.
The goal is to integrate more accurate in‑office blood pressure measurement, faster clinical follow‑up, enhanced support for medication adherence and timely treatment adjustments. It will also increase the use of home blood pressure monitoring and telehealth services to make care more accessible and consistent. A centralized, remote clinical team will work directly with patients to provide follow‑up, education and monitoring, while new data dashboards will help practices track performance and drive continuous improvement.
“This PCORI funding award will support Jefferson Health’s mission to translate evidence into improving outcomes, reducing health disparities and delivering more coordinated, effective care,” says Patricia Henwood, MD, FACEP, Chief Clinical Officer at Jefferson Health, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Population Health, and co-Principal Investigator on this project and for Jefferson’s participation in the HSII.
PCORI is a nonprofit organization with a mission to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions.
About Jefferson
Jefferson is reimagining health care and higher education to create unparalleled value throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. More than 65,000 people strong, Jefferson is dedicated to providing high-quality, compassionate clinical care for patients; making our communities healthier and stronger; preparing tomorrow's professional leaders for 21st-century careers; and creating new knowledge through basic/programmatic, clinical and applied research. Thomas Jefferson University, home of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Jefferson College of Nursing, and the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering & Commerce, dates back to 1824 and today comprises 10 colleges and three schools offering 200+ undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 8,300 students. Jefferson Health, nationally ranked as one of the top 15 not-for-profit health care systems in the country and the largest provider in the Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley areas, serves patients through millions of encounters each year at 33 hospital campuses and more than 700 outpatient and urgent care locations throughout the region. Jefferson Health Plans, through Health Partners Plans, Inc., is a not-for-profit managed health care organization offering a broad range of health coverage options to more than 370,000 members for more than 40 years.
Media Contact: Caroline Casey, 267-331-0949, Caroline.Casey2@jefferson.edu