By Nursing Home Law Center
Pressure ulcers are indeed preventable in the overwhelming majority of circumstances. The key is to identify patients who are at risk quickly after their admission to a medical facility and timely – and effectively implement preventative measures such as regular pressure relief and ensuring patients remain clean and dry.
Medicare has determined that pressure ulcers are indeed preventableand hospitals may no longer seek reimbursement for patients who develop pressure ulcers during a hospitalization.
While Medicare’s assignment of pressure ulcers to its list of never events remains an important development for patient safety, the fact remains that pressure ulcers are indeed a significant problem for many patients and result in many families seeking answers regarding medical care and legal options.
Here is an assembly of web resources related to pressure ulcers:
Computers that monitor prisoners in a correctional facility are not a bad idea in nursing facilities to ensure that the patient in the nursing home are being well cared for and not falling and are turned appropriately. The latter is one of the most reliable ways to prevent pressure ulcers.
Jeffrey Levine, M.D. has this website and blog to discuss geriatric patient care and wound care. The recent blog posts go into detail about geriatric law and what, legally, is needed to care for the elderly patient in a residential facility.
Discussed here is elder abuse and the warning signs, prevention and who is at risk. Many times in residential facilities, pressure ulcers are a tell tale sign of elder abuse.
This is a site that focuses on skin care and what to do to take care of skin during all stages of life. It discusses the care of skin during the stages of pressure ulcers.
A new technique was founded and implemented by nurses in this program and may go to hospitals’ countrywide. They technique details using music over a loudspeaker that stops when it is time for position changes.
This nursing program teaches prospective nurses how to recognize and treat symptoms of pressure ulcers. Warning signs are outlined, plus treatment regiments.
Skin is defined in detail with a picture and then the stages of pressure ulcers are outlined to assist people in recognizing them. Treatment guidelines are given to aide in the treatment.
This website demonstrates the wholistic approach to caring for the patient in the home health setting. It ranges from diet and fitness to medically caring for the patient.
Using ultraviolet therapy while doing wound care helps eliminate the odor associated with pressure ulcers. This can assist the patient in healing because it helps focus on taking care of the wound and not controlling the smell.
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