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Problem: Chronic wound care remains a major US healthcare problem, impacting approximately 1 million older adults and 3 million total adults annually. The issue is particularly grave in the long term care (LTC) setting: 13.2% of newly admitted ulcer-free patients will develop a PI within the first year of admission, 11.3% will progress. Evidence supports the use of WOC nurses to assure the highest level of quality, cost-effective care in the management of PI and other wounds. A global shortage of WOC nurses limits this positive effect on wound care outcomes.
Purpose: To examine the intra and interrater reliability of wound assessment and treatment decisions using AR glass telehealth technology as compared to traditional bedside assessment.
Methods: Intrarater reliability was assessed using a documentation-based wound assessment tool consisting of 6 discrete items. Assessment was first conducted by the WOC nurse remotely in collaboration with a bedside nurse wearing the AR glasses. This WOC nurse then assessed at the bedside. Initial assessment points, including treatment plan, were compared. A different WOC nurse conducted a bedside assessment with recommendations, which was compared to the AR glasses plan.
Results: Twenty wounds on 16 patients were assessed for intra-rater reliability. Six wound assessment components were included, totaling 120 observations points. Intra-rater reliability was 97%. Treatment plan interrater reliability was 100%.
Discussion & Implications: Results support further evaluation of AR glass technology as a tool to enhance the delivery of wound services in remote settings not served by WOC nurses. Use of this technology should enhance PI/chronic wound care by improving time to heal, decreasing related complications, ED visits, hospitalizations, and wound related mortality. Next steps include the implementation and evaluation of this AR glasses program on clinical and financial outcomes in LTC.