The global pandemic has been rough on the practice and people of wound care.
In their zeal to eliminate needless infection risk early on, nursing homes clamped down heavily on “non-essential” visitors, including wound care therapists, leading residents to skip clinic visits or experience significant treatment delays.
“The literal stretching of resources has impacted the ability to consult, guide and advise on wound care patients,” said Dea Kent, president of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society. “But that’s not to say extended care residents did not get good care.”
In March 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services significantly expanded telehealth coverage to allow a host of virtual care services, which not only reduced the risk of infection, but also superfluous clinic usage and ER utilization while providing greater options for 2.5 million seniors needing chronic wound care.
Wound care apps, many in tandem with telemedicine tools, now are indispensable for clinicians looking to identify, document and share images of wounds while minimizing viral transmission.
In rural England, for example, nurses working for one of the largest integrated care providers in the country use an app from NHS Health Call, a British digital solutions company, to upload images and other information to patients’ electronic medical records and remotely share it with clinicians.
Sandra Smyth, a nurse who played a key role in developing the app, told Nursing Times the app is transforming patient care.
If anything, there’s a silver lining to all of the challenges and obstacles the wound care field has confronted since COVID began. The pandemic may ultimately add to the scope of services provided in long-term care.
“Regulatory changes have many post-acute care organizations regrouping to determine whether to add expertise in specialized types of care to draw in a new stream of clients,” Relias’ Wound Care Education Institute notes, while citing studies showing links between better training and certification and reductions in SNF pressure injury rates.
From the November 2021 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
