A collaborative organization structure is more beneficial toward improving quality and patient satisfaction for wound care billing services than a fragmented organizational structure. And as it involves inpatient, outpatient, technology, skilled nursing facilities, healthcare facilities, and private practitioners, coordination is integral to achieving goals in wound healing.
Less than 15% of organizations that deal in care have formal organizational structures. There is a need to work closely in collaboration and within a defined structure. Organizations that have standard delivery care models increased communication and coordination, and intrinsic accountability tends to have improved performance in the outcome of patients in addition to lower costs of treatment.
Here’s how patients, healthcare staff and ÌT can benefit the entire wound care delivery:
Patients:
Referred to as ‘patient engagement,’ it is the collaboration between patients and healthcare providers where the patient takes some ownership of their health in terms of compliance with the prevention, documentation, communication, and care plans leading to their satisfaction for improving healthcare delivery. If patients are well informed, be it through online sources or electronic health information, they can have access to managing diseases and with the help of the family, improve the outcome.
Patients are motivated to get better soon as they are shown the progress of their wounds healing while describing the care plan. Once the patient and family are involved in their care plan, they can use medicines safely and timely, make informed choices/decisions, observe self-management, take preventive measures against infections, and report any issues when required. As patients spend lesser time in the hospital, this also frees up the healthcare staff and they can focus on other aspects enhancing financial performance, are more productive and satisfied leading to a positive influence on retention.
Healthcare Staff:
After the physician, it is the WOC nurses who are aware of pressure injury prevention and cure, hence their presence also benefits in wound cares outcomes. They ensure that documentation is apt, complete, and interventions occur in a timely manner. They keep a check on preventive and treatment measures, keep the physicians informed of any abrasions in patient’s wounds which require immediate attention, are overall empowered to control the system, and supervise the wound cares formulary.
IT:
IT helps in storing, processing, and exchanging data. Electronic Medical Records (EMR) must be used to aptly assist in wound cares outcomes. Many a time, the information is scattered in EMRs with columns on measurements, treatments, and preventive care being provided, missing. Sometimes, revision columns that could describe wound changes go missing too. Hence, redesigned and reassembled EMRs are required where all the information is provided at one spot and can be easily retrieved and deciphered for further treatment. Alerts must be set for physicians, nurses, and other risk managers to inform them of alterations in wounds, and the next treatment plan must be entered in the designated EMR columns.
Physicians also need to understand that skin requires care, and pressure injuries are vital to be dealt with as many wound dressings are considered as nurse interventions. Physicians must be involved in pressure injury prevention and be knowledgeable about appropriate ‘decision making algorithms’ in diagnosis, analysis, and treatment. Wound cares has evolved from simple dressing/bandage to occlusive dressings and now to negative pressure wound therapy.
Hence, appropriate wound cares delivery must be now considered as advanced wound care practice while implementing wound cares prevention, treatment via research, and best practices ultimately strengthening the healthcare system overall- for enhanced patient outcomes and healthcare facility’s financial growth. Wound cares is complicated. A formalized structure must be created involving the physician and other key stakeholders to break down silos and to support integration in clinics and ultimately enhance the wound cares outcome.
