Coping with the Pressure of Wound Care.The American Medical Directors Association crafts guidelines specifically for long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. Pressure ulcers Pressure ulcer Also known as a decubitus ulcer, pressure ulcers are open wounds that form whenever prolonged pressure is applied to skin covering bony outcrops of the body. Patients who are bedridden are at risk of developing pressure ulcers. are serious problems not only for nursing home residents, but for the long-term care industry, as well. In today's litigious litigious adj. referring to a person who constantly brings or prolongs legal actions, particularly when the legal maneuvers are unnecessary or unfounded. Such persons often enjoy legal battles, controversy, the courtroom, the spotlight, use the courts to punish climate, nursing homes must take steps to ensure that their wound management programs quickly identify, treat and, preferably, prevent pressure ulcers. To help them devise programs that are best for both residents and the industry, the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA AMDA American Medical Directors Association AMDA Association of Medical Doctors of Asia (Nepal) AMDA Acid Maltase Deficiency Association AMDA American Musical Dramatic Academy AMDA Association of Medical Doctors for Asia ) offers the Pressure Ulcer Therapy Companion. Dr. Steven Levenson, chair of the AMDA Clinical Practice Guidelines clinical practice guidelines Clinical policies, practice guidelines, practice parameters, practice policies Medtalk Systematically developed statements to assist practitioner and Pt decisions about appropriate health care for specific clinical circumstances. See Psychology. Project that drafted the Companion, says the AMDA recognized that other groups' guidelines for the management of pressure ulcers did not focus on the unique needs of the long-term care population or provide a systematic process for pressure ulcer management. As Dr. Levenson explains, "many government-issued guidelines just say, 'Use a dressing' or 'Turn and position the patient,' but they don't get into the responsibilities for each staff person. So as a result of these kinds of guidelines, too much is left to the facility to try to figure out how to use them--how to turn a scientific recommendation into a procedure that they can implement effectively." In contrast, Dr. Levenson says the Companion presents long-term care facilities long-term care facility n. See skilled nursing facility. with a process-oriented approach that "recognizes the various players or participants, such as nurses, nursing aides and physicians, and tries to define their roles and functions in relation to the wound management process." Dr. Levenson points out that the Companion does not outline the specific details on how to change a dressing, for example, but rather provides a framework or foundation on which facilities can build effective wound management programs: "I compare the Companion's guidelines to the framework of a bridge and the procedures to a roadway. It's not enough just to have the framework, but you can't have the roadway without an adequate framework to support it. The policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental of the facility must reflect the steps of the guidelines." Displayed is the table from the Companion focusing on facilities' medico-legal responsibilities in pressure ulcer management. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion