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Did you know…
- A patient with a pressure injury has a 2-6 times greater mortality risk then one with intact skin?
- Patients with incontinence associated dermatitis are at greater risk of developing pressure injuries?
- Shield HealthCare can help you improve your OASIS scores?
Importance of Screening and Assessment
Screening patients for incontinence is important in the home healthcare setting to prevent falls and incontinence associated dermatitis (IAD), in addition to improving each patient’s quality of life.
Correct Assessment
Pressure Injuries and Incontinence Associated Dermatitis (IAD) can appear similar in the early stages. However, the plan of care for treating and preventing each condition is very different.
Because pressure injuries are a quality indicator in acute care, correct assessment is vital for appropriate treatment and reimbursement.
Outcomes
Recovery speed depends on the overall medical status of the patient. However, pressure injuries and IAD have different projected periods of recovery:
With a proper plan of care, individuals with IAD will:
- Begin seeing improvement within 72 hours
- Achieve complete healing in a few weeks, in many cases
With proper treatment and nutrition, most individuals with Stage I & II Pressure Injury will:
- See some signs of healing within the first 2 weeks
- Achieve full recovery anywhere from 3 weeks – 6 months, in many cases
Incorrect assessment can also change reasonable outcome expectations by the payor and ultimately affect reimbursement.
Accurate, early identification of IAD and pressure injuries may positively affect patient outcomes, improve quality scores and reduce reporting errors.
