Q: What is the true cost of wounds and wound care?
A: A 2014 analysis of Medicare spending found between $28.1 billion and $96.8 billion per year was spent on wound care in the US.
Limited data was available for costs specific to post-acute or long-term care settings, but wound care is undoubtedly expensive. Wound care standards require that the initial assessment of a patient at every skilled nursing facility must include a head-to-toe skin assessment. Staff must also complete an assessment to determine if risk factors for skin breakdown are high, moderate or low. Post surgical and diabetic wounds require rigorous observation and care since they are at higher risk of complication.
Unfortunately, scrutiny is severe at nursing facilities compared to hospital settings. Wound experts at the hospital are mostly part-time contractors, while many SNFs have wound experts visiting the location weekly to provide hands-on education during the wound rounds.
There is no comparison of one location versus another in terms of patient care, though often nursing facilities have restricted treatment options due to Medicare or Medicaid reimbursements.
It is important to understand the barriers to efficient wound care management. Often providers feel uncomfortable handling wounds and leave the matter to the rounding wound experts who come into the facility once a week. This trickles down to the nursing team who are required to assess the wound with every wound care treatment. It is reminiscent of a famous saying: “We are the enemy of what we don’t know.”
It is important to have adequate knowledge and expertise in wound care for improved patient care and cost efficiency. After all, as another famous saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
From the December 2023 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
