A new study has shown that doctors routinely record blood pressure levels that are significantly higher than levels recorded by nurses.
A systematic review led by the University of Exeter Medical School, and supported by the National Institute for Health Research Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care in the South West Peninsula has found that recordings taken by doctors are significantly higher than when the same patients are tested by nurses.
The phenomenon of doctors recording higher blood pressure is known as the "white coat effect", and is thought to result from the patient's physical response to being assessed by a doctor.
The findings from the first thorough analysis of scientific data were published in the British Journal of General Practice.
