National Pressure Ulcer experts kick off initiative

[cougarnurse]

From the latest Advance for Nurses:

At any given time, 1 in 7 hospital patients in the U.S. has a pressure ulcer. At a kickoff conference Oct. 21 in Philadelphia, a partnership of nursing homes, home care organizations and hospitals began a year-long initiative to reduce the occurrence of this potentially serious, often preventable condition.

"We want to improve the prevention of pressure ulcers and lessen their severity when they do occur," said Kate Flynn, president of The Health Care Improvement Foundation, a nonprofit patient safety organization involved in the effort. "Helping clinicians and other caregivers quickly adopt the best, evidence-informed prevention practices is the key to success."

Treatment and prevention experts addressed nearly 350 patient safety and quality officers, physicians, wound care specialists, nurses, therapists and other caregivers at the kickoff.

Diane Krasner, PhD, RN, CWCN,nationally recognized certified wound specialist, reviewed best practices and new clinical practice guidelines.

Thomas E. Serena, MD,FACS,founder and medical director of the Penn North Centers for Advanced Wound Care with more than 20 centers nationwide, explained recent advances in treatment, including bioengineered skin, growth factors, and gene therapy.

In breakout sessions, attendees learned about appropriate and timely skin and wound assessment; the importance of documentation and multidisciplinary communication and coordination; and the resources available to aid clinicians in the prevention and early treatment of pressure ulcers.

The Philadelphia-area initiative is partially funded by the Partnership for Patient Care, jointly supported by Independence Blue Cross and the region's hospitals. Additional support was provided by Tenet Healthcare Foundation.

The event is part of the Pennsylvania Pressure Ulcer Partnership, a statewide program resulting from collaboration by the foundation, The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, the Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania, ECRI Institute, and Quality Insights of Pennsylvania.

To develop sustained, measurable prevention improvements, those attending the kickoff will be involved in follow-up activities such as benchmark surveys, conference calls, and results monitoring. In effect, conference attendees will be recruited and supported to lead prevention efforts once they return to the hospital, long-term care, hospice and home-care settings where they care for patients.

As reported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the prevalence of pressure ulcers among high risk long-term care residents (those who are mobility-impaired, comatose, or malnourished) in Pennsylvania was nearly 14 percent from July to September 2007.

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, approximately 1.5
percent of all U.S. hospital discharges include a diagnosis of pressure ulcer. This translates into 28,000 cases a year in Pennsylvania. The estimated cost of healing a pressure ulcer ranges from $500 to $40,000 with additional expense due to longer lengths of stay, infection, use of specialty beds and supplies, and increased nursing time.

As part of new policies on withholding payment for the treatment of serious adverse, preventable events (also called "never events"), Medicare and Medical Assistance (Pennsylvania's Medicaid program) no longer pay treatment costs for pressure ulcers acquired during hospital stays. Many commercial insurers have, or are considering, similar policies.

For more information about the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Partnership, visit http://www.hcifonline.org/.