Pharmacies in Tarragona are participating throughout May in the Mànigues Amunt campaign to detect cases of undiagnosed or poorly controlled high blood pressure and to check if patients are adequately following their antihypertensive treatment.
The initiative focuses on a specific gap. While hypertension requires continuous monitoring, data from the World Health Organization places adherence to long-term treatments for chronic diseases in developed countries at 50%, and the results of the 2025 campaign indicate that one in three people attended presented high blood pressure values in Catalan pharmacies.
The campaign incorporates a test to link blood pressure with treatment follow-up
The initiative, driven by the Consell de Col·legis Farmacèutics de Catalunya, seeks not only to detect high blood pressure readings but also to identify when the problem is related to a lack of adherence among patients who are already taking medication.
To do this, pharmacies record the values on the Farmaserveis platform, administer an initial questionnaire, and complete an adherence test for patients treated with antihypertensives. They then measure blood pressure and can adjust a personalized pharmaceutical intervention based on the relationship between both data points.
Furthermore, the protocol includes promoting digital follow-up through the La Meva Farmàcia application, with which the patient can maintain control of the process beyond the measurement taken at the pharmacy.
The month of May concentrates a review that seeks to detect undiagnosed or poorly controlled cases
Throughout the month, the campaign is taking place in Tarragona pharmacies as part of an extended initiative across Catalonia. The objective covers two distinct situations that often coincide at the counter: people who are unaware they have high blood pressure and already treated patients who are not managing to keep it under control.
This dual focus is supported by a health context statistic. The WHO estimates adherence to long-term treatments for chronic diseases in developed countries at 50%, a benchmark that explains why the campaign adds a specific test for patients with antihypertensives instead of limiting itself to a single blood pressure reading.
The results of the 2025 campaign show that one out of every three people attended in Catalan pharmacies had high blood pressure values, a figure that serves as a reference for the action that Tarragona pharmacies maintain active throughout May.