As part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initially identified eight preventable adverse events on August 1, 2007, with nine more conditions proposed on April 14, 2008.1,2 They have introduced a plan to help contain costs by rejecting payment of the higher diagnostic category when such events occur as a secondary diagnosis in acute care facilities. Now there is a renewed urgency and heightened focus on prevention because beginning in October of 2008, the hospital will not receive additional reimbursement to care for a patient who has acquired a pressure ulcer while under the hospital’s care.

It is estimated that 2.5 million patients are treated each year in U.S. acute-care facilities for pressure ulcers.2 Incident rates vary by clinical settings, ranging from 0.4 percent to 38 percent in acute care and 2.2 percent to 23.9 percent in long-term care.2,3 In FY2007, there were 257,412 reported cases of Medicare patients with pressure ulcers as a secondary diagnosis.1 The additional average charge for the hospital stay (per case) was $43,180. It is estimated that 60,000 patients die each year as a result of pressure ulcer complications.1

The main challenges to having an effective pressure ulcer prevention program are lack of resources, lack of staff education, behavioral challenges and lack of patient and family education. Medline’s comprehensive Pressure Ulcer Prevention Program offers solutions to these challenges to promote the reduction of pressure ulcers with clinical and educational resources, assessment tools, and a product line, designed to work along with or complement your existing program.

Click here to request more information on the Pressure Ulcer Prevention Program and Product Bundle!


References
1 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Program; Changes to the Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment Systems and Fiscal Year 2008 Rates; Final Rule. Federal Register. 2007;72(162):47130-48175.

2 Lyder CH. Pressure ulcer prevention and management. JAMA. 003;389(2):223-226.

3 Duncan K. Preventing pressure ulcers: The goal is zero. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2007;33(10).

4 National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel. Pressure ulcers: incidence, economics, risk assessment. Consensus Development Conference Statement. West Dundee, Ill: SN Publications;1989.