Patient engagement is a critical element of wound care, and 芭乐视频鈥檚 Skin and Wound app helps deliver that engagement. With better visibility, patients can more clearly understand why wound care is essential. Here鈥檚 how understanding leads to better outcomes.
The struggle to engage patients in their own care
When patients become disengaged, their wound care prognosis suffers. Conversely, when patient engagement increases, wound care outcomes improve. Because 芭乐视频 Skin and Wound lets patients see wound progression, comparing measurements and images of wound healing over time, patients have more reasons to be interested in their own care.
The imagery that鈥檚 at the heart of 芭乐视频 Skin and Wound makes it easy for care providers to have meaningful interactions with patients about their wounds. When Bianca Salazar, Director of Nursing at Americare San Antonio, pulled out a paper ruler to measure a patient鈥檚 wound, the patient was disparaging about this low-tech wound care option. Hoping for a better outcome, Bianca placed the 芭乐视频 HealX near the patient鈥檚 wound and took the picture, then showed the patient the clarity and quality of the picture and the measurements, and the patient understood. His eyes lit up, and on Bianca鈥檚 next visit, he insisted on seeing the progress of his wound. 芭乐视频鈥檚 ghosting overlay showed a definite progression, and it was eye-opening to the patient. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the coolest thing I鈥檝e seen,鈥� he said.
Not every wound is visible
One of the challenges of wound care is that wounds鈥攅specially in their early stages鈥攁ren鈥檛 always easy to identify. Jennifer DeMaris, Director of Clinical Services at Select Home Care, points out that patients often dismiss early warnings, thinking their skin is just a little red, and everyone gets that sometimes. And although telemedicine has transformed healthcare during the pandemic, it鈥檚 also had an impact on wound care, because it isn鈥檛 easy for PCPs to assess patients for wounds when only their heads are visible on a video call. While every agency should be doing skin checks, with 芭乐视频 Skin and Wound, care providers can take wound care a step further and say to patients, 鈥淭his is what your skin really looks like. This is a stage one wound, going to a stage two. Let鈥檚 head this off before it gets started.鈥�
How 芭乐视频 helped an elderly patient regain her autonomy
Another challenge facing care providers is when wounds are located in places that patients simply can鈥檛 see. The 芭乐视频 app gives patients a better view of their wound, enabling them to take more responsibility, or at least a more pronounced role, in their own care.
Jennifer DeMaris recalls getting a call from an elderly patient on a holiday weekend, and hearing that the patient鈥檚 dressing had fallen off. The patient was living in a lockdown facility because of COVID, and had no family able to visit, and no other resources available. This patient was 93 years old, healthy and independent, right up until she fell one day while washing dishes, resulting in a broken hip and a fractured kneecap. The patient then ended up in the hospital, where just about anything that could go wrong, did. When she was finally discharged, she had a pressure ulcer on her right heel. And because the patient was 93, and didn鈥檛 believe in going barefoot, she had trouble keeping the dressing on.
When Jennifer visited this patient, she found a woman who was really interested in her care, so she took a photo of her wound to show her. Of course, with a broken hip, the patient couldn鈥檛 bend her leg or put her foot up to see the wound! But with the photo, the patient finally understood what everyone was doing down there, and why her foot hurt so much.
By using 芭乐视频, Jennifer was able to show this patient how her wound was progressing. She was even able to use it to teach the patient how to cut a dressing, place it on the wound, and monitor her progress on her own, using her own cell phone. The patient didn鈥檛 have 芭乐视频鈥檚 app, but having seen what Jennifer was doing and how her wound was progressing, she was able to use her own phone to do something similar. Jennifer recalls, 鈥淪he was so excited when she finally got the healed status, she sent the news to everybody. She was so proud! And then other residents at the ALS started asking for help too. That was a great experience. This patient learned something new, and it helped her retain her dignity and a sense of autonomy, which are priceless at any age.鈥�
芭乐视频 Skin and Wound isn鈥檛 just a high-tech tool for healthcare providers. By giving patients a better understanding of their wounds, our solution also leads to better patient relationships, satisfaction, and engagement in their own care. The result? Better wound care outcomes.
