title: The cost of treating pressure ulcers in a long-term care facility.
abstract: Although there is rising concern with the cost of pressure ulcer treatment, actual expenditures have not been quantified in many settings. A retrospective research design was used to describe the costs incurred by an 830-bed long-term care facility to treat 240 pressure ulcers over a five-year period. The total cost was $116,416 for the study period. The mean cost of treatment was $5.35/pressure ulcer/day. These costs are substantially lower than the costs of pressure ulcer treatment in acute care. Further study to compare treatment costs with prevention costs would provide useful information on the cost benefits of prevention.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Frantz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Specht
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004471:Economics, Nursing; D004865:Equipment and Supplies, Hospital / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D006746:Hospital Bed Capacity, 500 and over; D006801:Humans; D008134:Long-Term Care; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000191:economics* / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits