New Medicare requirements-in addition to coding complications and errors-can affect your bottom line
Performance on publicly reported OASIS outcome measures will affect an agency's reputation and will ultimately affect payments under the pay-for-performance model
Failure to report on the two OASIS criteria will result in a 2% reduction in annual payment updates for each year the measures remain unreported
Targeting and improving key outcomes-with standardized, evidence-based protocols and products-will be key to successfully navigating in a pay-for-performance environment
Integrating modern wound care and standardized protocols in order to achieve improved outcomes and reduce clinical practice variations
Evidence-based protocols impact clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness
Healing time
Number of visits
Consumption of material
Cost comparison of saline/gauze and advanced moist wound dressing:
Saline/gauze
Advanced moist wound dressing
Cost per dressing change
$ 2.91
$ 11.52
Dressing changes
Twice daily
Three times a week
Material cost per week
$ 40.74
$ 34.56
Cost of 1 nursing visit
$ 100.00
$ 100.00
Wound reduction after 4 weeks
50%
100%
Cost for 4 weeks of care (including materials and labor)
$ 5,762.96
$ 1,338.24
Adapted with permission from Ostomy Wound Management. Kingsley A. The wound infection continuum and its application to clinical practice. Ostomy Wound Manage. 2003;49(7Asuppl):1-7.
Instead of using advanced moist wound dressings, many physicians rely on gauze (wet-to-dry) dressings, which:
Can cause patient discomfort
Require more labor; more frequent changing helps to maintain moist optimal healing environment, but can also damage delicate wound tissue
Provide no physical barrier against external bacteria
Clinical efficiency may lead to improved outcomes and cost-effective treatment
Cookies are needed for this website to work optimally. They also help us to know a little bit about how you use our website, which improves the browsing experience. Cookies on this site are used for traffic measurement and optimization of page content only. By continuing to browse on this website, you indicate your consent to the use of cookies. You may block the use of cookies by following the "How to block and avoid cookies" instructions
