Wound healing management: enhancing patient outcomes and reducing costs.
Biomedical technology as applied to wound healing management allows specific evaluations of the oxygen-related pathophysiology of non-healing wounds. In many of these cases the use of transcutaneous oxygen mapping of the skin and hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy as an adjunctive treatment for non-healing wounds speeds the healing process. While HBO treatment has remained a covered service for hospital-based care, only recently have treatment algorithms for its application in an outpatient setting been available. This technological advancement has also been a factor in the development of cost effective wound healing centers (WHC) in community hospitals. Better outcomes for many chronic wounds are achieved by combining a multidisciplinary team approach using advanced technologies. In this article the case of a soft-tissue radiation necrosis ulceration of the leg successfully treated with adjunctive HBO is presented. In this example, a reduction in patient charges of greater than 30% was achieved as compared to costs associated with traditional surgical/hospital management of the condition.
Boykin
J V
JV
Columbia Retreat Regional Wound Healing Center, USA.
Crossland
M C
MC
Cole
L M
LM
D017046:Cost Savings; D019091:Critical Pathways; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006764:Hospitals, Community / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000191:economics*; D010982:Platelet-Derived Growth Factor / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013673:Technology Assessment, Biomedical; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States; D014945:Wound Healing