Using the Data to Start a Complex Wound Program

Context: Each year patients are admitted to the inpatient acute and critical care setting with wounds.  Patients with wounds are often admitted for other comorbidities.  Patients admitted to this health system with a wound diagnosis comprised 6,329 patients admitted to the health care facility in the past 12 months. This inpatient facility did not have a system for addressing inpatient complex wounds  prolonging  their length of stay.

Description: A cost analysis of patients with a diagnosis of wounds was conducted for a 1200 bed inpatient health care facility over the previous twelve months.

Observation: The average length of stay (LOS) for patients with a diagnosis of wounds was 8.99. A reduction of 0.1 LOS for these patients wound result in a total cost savings of 1,012,007 dollars  annually based on a cost per day of 1,599.00 dollars per patient.  Nine percent of the patients were uninsured which would account for 91,080.63 dollars in cost savings.

Discussion: The information gained from this cost analysis provided evidence for the development of an interdisciplinary complex wound service.  A system was developed to electronically consult the Complex Wound Service which included a team consisting of a physician, physical therapist and WOC nurses. An order set and electronic triggers in the electronic health record were created so that complex wound could be addressed thereby decreasing their length of stay for these patients.