Cath Lab Digest

According to a report released by DM Systems (Evanston, Ill), approximately one third of survey respondents revealed their facilities did not have an official heel pressure ulcer prevention program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced last year that it would no longer reimburse for hospital-acquired conditions such as pressure ulcers. DM Systems conducted a series of surveys in 2008 designed to gauge the effect of the CMS guidelines on healthcare facilities. Survey results found that major concern about the changes started in the spring and remained consistent through the fall. On average, 85% of respondents indicated that the new guidelines would have a significant impact on their facilities.

The CMS changes may have contributed to the increased number of respondents who said that their facility did have a heel ulcer prevention program. Of the respondents in the first round of surveys (Spring 2008), 36% stated that they did not work with an official protocol, but in the last round of surveys (Fall 2008), only 30% of respondents indicated that they did not have an official protocol. The majority (66%) of survey participants indicated their decision when purchasing new pressure-relief products was affected most by whether the product would work the best; 15.3% indicated that cost was their major determining factor.

Surveys were distributed to wound care professionals at three key wound care conferences: Symposium on Advanced Wound Care and Wound Healing Society Meeting (SAWC/WHS) in April, WOCN’s 40th Annual Conference in June, and Clinical Symposium on Advances in Skin & Wound Care in October. Respondents ranged from a variety of healthcare facilities and included hospitals, home healthcare, wound care clinics, nursing homes, hospices, and assisted living facilities.

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