August 13, 2020
The medical record is an essential piece of evidence in any legal case alleging professional negligence against wound care nurses and others. As you know, one of the purposes of the medical record is to reflect what nursing care was given to the patient. The entries speak to the quality of the care given. The […]
July 1, 2020
A discussion of how to determine the state of a wound and the care it needs by examining the wound exudate.
June 24, 2020
We go over some tips on how healthcare professionals and patients can get the most out of telewound sessions and ensure proper care is still provided.
February 26, 2020
Clinicians caring for Medicare beneficiaries who need pressure reducing support surfaces when discharged adapt to new prior authorization request rule.
June 12, 2018
A comprehensive skin assessment should look for more than just wounds because many medical problems have telltale signs that are easy to see if you know what to look for. POA. These three little letters have become very important in wound care because we must document any wounds present on admission (POA). By doing so, […]
March 10, 2018
Wound pain is sometimes difficult to quantify, but if a patient complains of pain, this requires effective and timely pain management. In the midst of the war on narcotics, that might mean looking for alternative pain management techniques and learning new approaches. Several months ago, I was attacked by the most venomous scorpion in North […]
January 19, 2018
To treat patients with lower extremity ulcers, you need to find out if there’s impaired arterial blood flow. For some patients, however, the standard Ankle Brachial Index (ABI) yields misleading results. Fortunately, there’s an easy alternative: the Toe Brachial Pressure Index (TBPI). Here’s when and how to perform this simple test. When confronting a lower […]
May 18, 2017
How do you spot an unhealthy wound edge? Learn more about the causes, prevention and treatment of epibole. When it comes to treating epibole, it’s all about knowing what a healthy wound edge looks like – and being able to spot signs of trouble. This basic overview includes epibole causes, prevention and treatment. We’ll have […]
May 12, 2017
Lawsuits often are settled out of court because the medical record documentation is not defensible. Incomplete, illogical, and inconsistent records are far too common, so it is important to avoid the common pitfalls. After reviewing hundreds of medical charts involved in litigation, I noticed many of the same problems occurring in the wound care documentation […]
April 7, 2017
Documentation of turning and repositioning often leads to legal problems as some healthcare providers chart by exception and others chart at the point of care. “The hospital never turned the patient, and therefore the patient suffered a serious pressure injury,” declared the plaintiff attorney. The defense team shot back, “Whoa. Slow down. Never is long […]