Wound Care: Care HomesUploads wound photos directly to the patient’s record
Background
Wound management can make up to 40 per cent of district nurses’ caseloads. Prior to using the Health Call Wound Care app, district nurses in County Durham were using System One templates to assess and review patients but there was no function to allow for photo sharing.
Patients have better outcomes when staff can perform assessments and create appropriate care plans which are reviewed as needed.
Use of photos are recognised as good practice for assessing wound improvement and can reduce the need for complex reassessment and possibly inappropriate referral.
How the Wound Care app works
The Wound Care app is completed by care home staff as part of our Digital Care Home product range.
The app asks care home staff to mark on a body map where the area of concern is and with the resident’s consent, can take photos of the wound. This can be used for pressure area assessments too.
The images are then pulled directly into the patient’s electronic record. No patient information is stored on the device locally.
Product features
- Mimics wound assessment and review templates
- Able to schedule review assessments
- Photo is stored in the app and not on the local device
- Integrated with electronic patient record
The tool allows staff to highlight where the wound is on the body.
Benefits of the Wound Care app
- Photos provide objective assessment
- Improved joint working between health and care professionals
- Improved ability to triage referrals and ensure that nurses have the right dressings when visiting residents
- Reduced footfall to care homes
- Reduced duplication of work
- Reduced travel by clinicians
- Supports rapid reviews