Pressure Ulcer Prevention
Starting in August 2008, eQHealth Solutions began a three-year project to collaborate with a group of Louisiana nursing homes to reduce pressure ulcers.
Pressure ulcers are a significant problem across all ages and health care settings, as well as a significant source of pain and human suffering. Multiple factors put individuals at risk for developing a pressure ulcer, including immobility, chronic illness, incontinence, poor nutrition, altered level of consciousness, altered sensory perception and a history of having pressure ulcers.
Pressure ulcers have been associated with an extended length of stay and mortality. The cost of treating a single full-thickness pressure ulcer can be as high as $70,000 with the total cost for treatment of pressure ulcers in the U.S. at $11 billion per year.
Although pressure ulcers are preventable, the prevalence in health care facilities is high. Pressure ulcer rates vary considerably by clinical setting – ranging from 0.4% to 38% in acute care, from 2.2% to 23.9% in long-term care and from 0% to 17% in home care.
