Diabetes Triggering the Growth of Wound Care Centers in the U.S

According to the American Diabetes Association, 1.7 million Americans aged 20 years or older are newly diagnosed with diabetes each year -- 4,660 per day and one every 19 seconds. Also, around 86 million Americans aged 20 years or older have pre-diabetes. As the number of diabetic patients is rising, there is overwhelming need for specialized care centers. Recent news published in Journal News hints that increasing incidence of diabetes is triggering the growth of wound care centers in the U.S.

The report says local health systems have been building up woundcare centers in recent years with the increase in demand for wound care services and more Americans becoming aware of available services. The development of wound care centers correlates with the rise in diabetes patients. Diabetes causes poor circulation in the legs and feet. This can result in slow healing of cuts, surgical wounds, wounds from radiation therapy and other types of wounds. Wounds may develop owing to the lack of blood supply to the legs or feet, including venous ulcers on the lower leg. Wound care centers include physicians from different disciplines including primary care, surgery and podiatry and trained nurses, who can provide specialized wound care treatment and help reduce such complications related to diabetes, optimize healing, reduce hospital stays, and help avoid amputations.

The advanced techniques and technologies used at a woundcare clinic may not be available at a general healthcare facility. The most sought after treatment methods among them are discussed below.

• LUNA Fluorescence Angiography – This technique helps physicians to visualize and assess tissue perfusion and viability in diabetic foot ulcers and non-healing wounds, which will expedite the healing process.
• Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) – NPWT involves placing a suction device on diabetic foot ulcers, which increases the progression of granulation tissue and helps to increase blood supply to the wound to facilitate healing. This will also help to remove exudate and control infection.
• Specialized Dressings – Specialized dressings are quite effective in treating diabetic foot ulcers as they can assist with moisture, exudate, and bacterial control. Biogenic skin graft substitutes can enhance granulation and ease wound closure.

In this way, woundcare centers significantly impact diabetic patients’ lives and the cost of healthcare than never before.

Why EMR Is Integral for Wound Care Centers

Better communication between physicians and nurses is essential for the effective functioning of wound care centers and provision of quality care. Complete and comprehensive documentation forms the crux of enhanced communication. The significance of an EMR specialized for wound care is that it integrates quantitative measures including healing rates and other relevant clinical data in real time with an automated alert system to all healthcare professionals involved in a patient’s care through e-mail, change in patient’s status in radiology reports and more. This system centralizes all information and allows physicians to provide an objective quantitative evaluation of the wound with sequential measurements and digital photography to determine the effectiveness of a therapy or treatment.

The woundcare specific templates let physicians and nurses access crucial information and at the same time enter their data very quickly. For example, a diabetic foot ulcer-specific database incorporates demographics, medical history, and baseline laboratory values, vascular testing data, radiology data, wound characteristics and wound debridement data including pathology, culture results, and amputation data so that the physicians can quickly determine which woundcare technology can work best for the patient and follow up with the healing rate to deliver care quickly. Physician and nurse interface as well as customized reports can further enhance the efficiency.

Wound Wizard is a secure web based application that uses a Software as a Service (SAAS) model, giving you greater flexibility in managing your patient documentation in real time. For more information visit http://www.woundemr.com or call 855-968-6394