pressure ulcers
Pressure Ulcers are a significant problem for people of all ages and across all health care settings, as well as a source of pain and human suffering. Pressure ulcers affect an estimated one million Americans, including as many as a quarter of all nursing home residents and one in ten hospital patients. The cost of pressure ulcers to the healthcare system is estimated to be 1.3 billion dollars annually. For affected individuals, pressure ulcers may be associated with an increased risk of serious infections, intrusive and time-consuming treatments, restrictions in daily activities and alteration in self-image. Complications related to pressure ulcers are responsible for nearly 60,000 hospital patient deaths each year and there is some evidence that the presence of pressure ulcers among residents of long-term care facilities is independently associated with increased mortality. Although pressure ulcers are preventable, the prevalence in health care is high.
Although the focus for preventing and treating pressure ulcers has been on nursing homes in the past, hospitals are now charged with addressing this problem. As of October 1st, 2008 hospitals will no longer receive additional reimbursement from CMS to care for a patient who has acquired a pressure ulcer while under the hospital's care. It is hoped that cross-setting efforts between nursing homes and hospitals will not only provide an opportunity to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers, but also reduce the cost involved.
The goal of this project is to bring hospitals and nursing homes together to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers by promoting collaboration and facilitating knowledge transfer and sharing of best practices among the participating hospitals and nursing homes.
Masspro will assist participating hospitals and nursing homes to define new processes and/or system-wide changes that can be implemented within the greater healthcare community to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers.
Specifically, Masspro Performance Improvement Advisors provide the following services:
Conduct consultative visits to assess current practices and strategies Promote use of multidisciplinary frontline teams to lead improvement work Provide tools, resources and technical assistance in implementing best practices related to pressure ulcer prevention and management Promote collaboration, sharing and problem solving among participating hospitals and nursing homes through conference calls, email discussions and participant meetings Assist facilities in performing a staff culture of safety survey and target improvements for identified safety culture gaps Encourage measures that address culturally appropriate care and healthcare disparities
|
