Today's Wound Clinic - Spring 2008 - (Page 33)

inphotography admitted with a suspected deep tissue injury or with an unstageable ulcer, as the photo may not adequately capture the severity of the injury and depth of tissue damage. UTILIZING COMPATIBLE TECHNOLOGY Since most if not all wound clinics utilize some type of digital photography, and because many of these clinics are associated with hospitals, it would seem logical for continuity of care purposes and consistency of documentation, that both of these entities try to utilize like technology. This may be as simple as digital cameras with stand alone printers that are not immediately downloaded into a system within, the hospital. Photos can be printed out on the individual unit and placed in the patient’s chart. Furthering this continuum requires, electronic documentation systems that have the capability to join information from in and outpatient settings. Such systems need to chronologically store photos from acute care to the outpatient clinic thus, giving a greater pictorial history of the ulcer than what is presently seen in the differing techniques of the paper copy of the photo. Photos of this quality are found in the inpatient chart to the electronic copy kept in the clinic.This can only improve patient care by building the complete bridge of documentation as the patient transitions from hospital to the wound clinic and is often the case, back to inpatient again. All interested parties, including third party payors are able to see the progress from start to finish. THE FUTURE OF WOUND PHOTOGRAPHY Emerging technologies show the promise of unalterable digital photography along with wound assessment that accurately measures wound depth and area as well as maintains the history of the wound for documentation, litigation, reimbursement, and archiving needs. These systems, though presently, still expensive, are becoming much more user friendly, requiring less staff education time in comparison to that of the past. It would be unfortunate to eliminate wound photography from inpatient settings. The rationale that many facilities are using to eliminate photography is reasonable: poor photography, inconsistent practice with facility policy and procedure, inconsistent narrative documentation compared to photo, and unfortunately, less than adequate care of the integumentary system. This author believes it is the wound care industry’s challenge to raise the bar. This industry can help establish strong policies and procedures that mandate and support accurate assessment and documentation. Education on appropriate assessment, staging, and measurement must extend to all patient care providers including our admitting physicians. It is important to make sure that policy and procedure including that of wound photography is followed by all of these practitioners. Wound care professionals need to challenge the industry to further improve the existing and emerging technology so that the full story can be told pictorially and so these systems are much easier for the busy clinician to use. Enhancement of documentation ultimately improves patient care across the continuum. This author would like to acknowledge the input and expertise of Mary T. Bruno, RN, CWS, CFCN, CLNC, FCCWS, DAPWCA of Bruno Medical-Legal Consultants, Inc., rendered during the writing of this article. Val Sullivan, PT, MS, CWS is a member of TWC’s Editorial Board and the Clinical Manager of Advanced Wound Care Services and Hyperbaric Medicine at Capital Regional Medical Center in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached for questions via email at Valerie.Sullivan2@hcahealthcare.com. Today’s Wound Clinic Spring 2008 33

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Today's Wound Clinic - Spring 2008

Today's Wound Clinic - Spring 2008 Contents InTroduction InBusiness Documentation: The 30,000-Foot View Documentation: Clearing Up the Role of Compliance InTech InPhotography InFluence InStruction InNews InCentive Ad Index

Today's Wound Clinic - Spring 2008

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