Managing the Cost of Treating Pressure Ulcers
Go straight to the calculatorMany excellent studies and reviews discuss the treatment of pressure ulcers and the costs of managing them in long-term care facilities. The primary cost in managing pressure ulcers is the cost of skilled nursing time. This time increases with:
- the number of residents with pressure ulcers
- the number of ulcers at more advanced various stages
- the number of ulcers that have complications
- the duration of Pressure Ulcers
The challenge – In any long-term care facility, the goal is to reduce the number of new pressure ulcers, heal existing ulcers, and prevent existing ulcers from getting worse. This will not only increase patient well-being and comfort, it will also reduce the institution's costs of managing ulcers.
The solution – Tracking the costs of treating pressure ulcers at various stages can help you see the cost benefits of getting pressure ulcers under control as early as possible and can help you manage the process better at your institution.
WoundFollowUp can help you track the costs of managing pressure ulcers in your institution – with the Pressure Ulcer Calculator below.
This is a calculator to estimate the costs of Pressure Ulcers in your nursing home. The data you enter on planned costs in the first table will stay in your computer (stored in a 'cookie'). The results in the second table are re-calculated each time you enter the numbers of wounds at various stages. No data from this page is sent outside your computer. It's local and private. The spreadsheet never gets stored, so you will need to print the spreadsheet before you close the web page.
Part 1 – Set the average costs at your institution
In the table below, enter the average time and costs for treating pressure ulcers at your institution. (We entered some values just as an example, but you should replace these with values that are meaningful to your institution.)
Part 2 – Roll up of Weekly Costs
When you enter the numbers of wounds in the table below, it will calculate the cost per week of
managing pressure ulcers in your residence or facility. (It uses the average values you entered in
the Part I table above, and will update if you change the values in that table).
- In column 1, enter the total number of ulcers at each stage (I to IV) in your institution.
- In column 2, enter the number of those ulcers that have complications (such as infections).
- For example, if there are two Stage II ulcers and one of them is infected, you would enter a ‘2’ in the first column (total) and a ‘1’ in the second column.
