A new international study finds that five-layer silicone border dressings already shown to effectively prevent pressure injuries in long-term care also can result in major dollar savings for providers.
“Current guidelines do not address most new technologies for pressure injury prevention introduced in the last three to five years as part of quality improvement bundles, which could improve patient outcomes in long‐term care, especially facilities that face compounded risk caused by critical illness, immobility, malnourishment, and older age,” they reported in September’s International Wound Journal.
One observational study found border dressings reduced wound occurrence by 30% across 1 million patients.
Foam dressings tested in the 2016-2017 BORDER trail can be used continually for up to four days, and researchers estimated daily costs at $6 in the U.S. — just a fraction of total prevention protocol costs of $115.
Mortalities dropped by 22.81% at nursing homes with the QI bundle, and a model indicated a treatment savings of $7,915 per patient in the U.S. (in 2017 dollars).
“More care is not necessarily wasteful care when it comes to patient safety,” the team reported.
“Using one to two dressings per week on all patients may significantly offset the cost of treating one or several full‐thickness wounds.”
From the October 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
