Carmen Thompson – Multidisciplinary Wound Care: Effective Strategies for Managing Wounds & Their Underlying Causes

Outline

Multidisciplinary Wound Care

• Standards of care, ethics and legalities
• Interdisciplinary care in a patient with a wound
  • Why be involved in wound care?
• Considering cost, revenue, and insurance cost savings

Wound Healing Basics

• Anatomy and physiology of the skin and surrounding structures
• Stages of wound healing
• Factors affecting wound healing

Distinguishing Between Wound Types

• Acute
  • Post-surgical
  • Burns
  • Trauma
• Chronic wounds
  • Venous ulcerations
  • Arterial ulcerations
    • Testing — ankle-brachial index
  • Pressure ulcers
  • Diabetic/neuropathic ulcers
  • Other, palliative, radiation

Now Let’s Make a Plan: Assessing and Planning for the Treatment of the Wound

• Assessment tools
  • Tests
  • Scales
  • Measurements
• Labs
• Nutrition
• Functional needs of the patient
• Other factors affecting wound healing

Executing Your Treatment Plan

• Preparing the wound bed
  • Is there infection?
  • Do you need to debride?
  • Is it wet or dry?
  • Is the wound painful?
• How do we clean it?
• What topical?
• Dressings
• Is this treatment functional for the patient if possible?
• Is there edema present?
• How can we go above and beyond?
  • Therapeutic modalities

Documentation

Team Communication, Monitoring, & Progress