Educating Patients on Chronic Wound Care: Better Outcomes and Lower Costs
This probably isn’t a shock for anyone familiar with wound care or healthcare in general, but the numbers aren’t good. Taking care of wounds is expensive, and many patients don’t finish their treatment plans or even show up for their appointments.
The data speaks for itself.
- $13,355 average Medicare cost per case (that number can skyrocket if it involves an in-patient stay)
- 50% no show rate at wound care clinics
- ~10.5 million Americans affected by chronic wounds
But why is this the case?
At Esperta Health, we believe it comes down to education. Too many patients are presenting at a hospital to receive wound care, instead of seeking out lower costs and equally effective treatment sites. Additionally, they aren’t completing their treatment regimens, which often negates the healing patients have seen in their wounds.
We need to find more opportunities to educate our patients and instill wellness habits that will have a long-term effect on health. Plus, the need for education extends beyond providers. Health plans can play an important role in ensuring members understand the nuances of wound care and how they can receive their desired result.
When I mention education, it is more than changing dressings or monitoring wound healing progress. Patients need to understand the dynamics and barriers at play that are hampering healing.
What does this include?
1. Importance of adhering to the treatment plan—Clinicians often tell patients about the need to finish the treatment plan to avoid recurrence. That message cannot be oversold to patients. They need to finish the treatment plan to get the desired result.
2. Getting treatment in the right location—For most patients, the acute care setting is not the right place to receive wound care. As an impulse, many patients go to the emergency room or the inpatient setting to receive would care. Chronic wounds should be treated in the home where wound-certified clinicians can ensure consistency.
3. Consistency matters—Here’s that word again, consistency. It’s important to have consistency in all aspects of wound care. This means consistent treatments aligned with the plan, consistent materials throughout the dressing process, and consistent dressing techniques. Too often clinicians of varying backgrounds will treat wounds differently based on their experience instead of evidence-based standards.
Beyond increasing education around core barriers to treating chronic wounds, we need to put it in terms the patient will understand by relaying this information from their perspective. At Esperta Health, our in-home process allows for more touchpoints with the patient and the ability to guide them. If we educate our patients well, we will see a decrease in the cost of treating chronic wounds along with better, sustained outcomes.