Procurement’s role in reducing the total cost of wound care

A McKinsey & Company survey found that 44% of hospital executives in Europe and the U.S. are working more closely with Medtech as industry partners  . McKinsey’s report indicates that healthcare leaders are growing more aware of the supplier’s role in not only containing treatment costs, but also improving quality of care4.

A collaborative approach brings experts to the table who can evaluate, configure and implement a tailored programme focused on your unique challenges and opportunities.

For example, Mölnlycke Health Care demonstrates the strength of 'beyond product' partnerships in the wound care space. One client, the largest rural hospital in the United States, sought Mölnlycke’s help to reduce redundancies that caused less-than-desired clinical outcomes and excessive product usage (an average USD620,000 annual expenditure) . Mölnlycke coordinated a wound care standardisation programme that included inventory analysis, protocol assessment and clinical education across the wound care continuum. The results included a near 40% improvement in wound healing rates, $300,000 annual reduction in supply expenses, and increased patient and clinician satisfaction  .

In the previously referenced McKinsey survey, healthcare executives ranked the strength of supplier capabilities in several areas. Consumable and device suppliers were most often ranked 'excellent' in the areas of clinical/medical expertise (37% of respondents), technical expertise (37%) and understanding of the hospital business (24%)  . This feedback could be used as a starting point for defining the wound care partner’s role and where their capabilities can be best leveraged to assist your teams. For example:

• auditing key data
• determining realistic metrics
• implementing new clinical processes and protocols
• tracking and data gathering on important metrics
• training and educating clinicians for standardised knowledge across teams

Address inconsistencies within the same practise

A systematic review of global literature conducted by a Scottish university in 2018 found consistent shortcomings — as reported by clinicians themselves — in wound education, knowledge of wound care and poor application of knowledge in the clinical setting  .

In a separate 2020 study, nurses expressed feelings of uncertainty around wound care decisionmaking  . Methods of gathering information were characterised by some of these nurses as 'random' — i.e., relying on previous experience, internet searches or asking colleagues for input. Many in the study group pointed out that practice-based choices were not evidence-based despite the credence of evidence-based approaches  .

Another report indicates that variability in practice, protocols and solutions can lead to unpredictable outcomes, compromised care, unpredictable costs, increased staff time and product waste    . Standardisation, training and educational support rooted in evidence-based practice helps ensure that the most optimal wound care treatment protocols are consistently applied by clinicians at all levels across care settings.

Standardising to a limited set of high-quality products — for example, dressings clinically proven to properly handle fluid management over a longer period — can minimise skin maceration, reduce clinician time for dressing changes and, in turn improve product utilisation    .

In addition, a seemingly simple metric like the number of changes required for a dressing type can have a significant impact on infection rates. As one study noted, frequent dressing changes are a risk factor for bacterial contamination. It was also observed that wound healing is interrupted for approximately three to four hours after a dressing change  .

Your partner can help you find the wound care solutions that are backed by clinical evidence, as there are potentially significant product differences that you’ll need to consider for both efficiency and clinical outcomes.

Solution training and data collection are key to results

Hands-on training support from your partner is essential to ensure solutions are used correctly and aligned to best practice protocols. Supplemental to this training are a number of smartphone based digital bedside tools to assist clinicians with tasks like wound assessment, measurement and dressing selection. These digital apps not only reduce errors in manual wound measurements, but also decrease documentation time  .

Aside from treatment, training can also be focused on prevention. Consider the benefits of a value programme aimed at preventing pressure injuries. Training clinicians on how to spot an emerging pressure injury, proper patient repositioning and solutions that help clinicians turn the patient without injuring themselves all go a long way to reducing costs and risks while improving clinical outcomes, patient experience and clinician safety.