Dwindling hospital reimbursements, increasing patient acuity & morbidities,

changing population demographics and a growing nursing shortage have contributed to the development of 2.5 to 3.5 million “reported” pressure ulcers in our healthcare system. The financial implications are staggering…8 billion dollars last year.  With the CMS changes in 2008 focusing on patient safety issues, acute care facilities will no longer be reimbursed for hospital acquired pressure ulcers, therefore “prevention practices” are essential to decrease pressure ulcer development.

“Best practices” involves many variables, so how do hospitals initiate the most appropriate to their patient population and staff?  Implementing quality improvement methodology using multiple PDCA cycles can dramatically lower incidence and identify the most successful practices. By taking a proactive stance and implementing this cycle of continuous quality improvement, our facility has dramatically lowered our monthly incidence rates from 1.43% to 0.2%.  Our annual incidence rates have decreased from 7% to 3%, despite our prevalence rate increasing from 15% to 22% for our patient population.

Discover how our hospital's journey, using quality improvement tools has made a difference…creating a culture of quality  which seeks new perspectives  to continually improve pressure ulcer protocols, patient care algorithms for skin care, incontinence care,  wound care & support surfaces, order sets, improved staff education & physician communication…all which have resulted in positive clinical outcomes to reduce pressure ulcer incidence and improve patient care.