A detailed wound assessment, should be performed consistently, with a focus on the whole patient. To ensure realistic and appropriate care planning, the patient assessment should be multi-faceted, fully acknowledging the patient’s wider social, psychological, and lifestyle factors that may affect wound healing. It is vital to assess, and implement interventions that can limit the impact of a wound on a patient’s daily life. Wounds can sometimes have an odor, cause mobility restrictions, and social issues, all of which can contribute to depression and anxiety. By involving and referring to a multidisciplinary team, appropriate health professionals will be involved in care.
The availability of providers and clinicians with the tools they need to document wounds promptly and properly will allow for more effective prioritization of treatment for patients. Meanwhile, the importance of utilizing a systematic approach to wound management has increased. Healthcare professionals who are unfamiliar with wound care or with the protocols of the facility can nevertheless give high-quality care to patients who have wounds by leveraging digital imaging technology and customized clinical workflows. Clinical workflows can be tailored to the specific needs and level of care required by each patient. Let’s face it, not every clinical care setting is the same. Every patient is unique, as well as every wound. With this approach, patients receive the proper level of treatment, when and where they need it most.
The patient’s wound can be captured and measured with a digital image by a nurse who may not be as knowledgeable about wound care, where he/she will be guided throughout the clinical workflow with an emphasis on education. Your practice will run more smoothly with the help of this technology, measurements, and documentation will be more precise and consistent, which will ultimately result in overall better outcomes. As a result of the widespread use of mobile applications, clinicians now have easy access to decision tools and are based on evidence-based best practices. Despite having an electronic health record (EHR), most facilities are not set up to track wound care healing progress in real-time nor adequately.
The use of advanced digital technologies in wound care can ultimately improve workflow efficiency and care coordination, allowing for the identification of anomalies earlier, the more effective intervention of issues, and the provision of a new standard of care. With automatic measuring and tissue descriptions, clinicians can document wounds swiftly and consistently on admission, saving time and money. The use of digital imaging and documentation technologies has been shown to produce an equitable quality of care in wound care settings where doctors are confronted with staffing limitations and require support from alternative evaluation methods.
Important Notice: The views and opinions stated in this blog are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect iWound Global, iWound Care USA, Inc., its affiliates, or partner companies. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
