Healing Beyond Expectations: The Use of Innovative Moisture Management Dressings for Chronic Wounds in Home Care

Introduction: Chronic wounds in the home care setting can be resource-intensive and the complexity of the wound is often compounded by the presence of multiple comorbidities.1 External factors like decreases in Medicare reimbursement and lack of wound care experts in the home care setting often means that dressing choices are made based on cost and the decision maker.2,3,4 An ideal dressing should move wounds towards healing while decreasing the frequency of dressing changes.  This case series highlights the benefits of switching to an innovative moisture management dressing* with improved outcomes while reducing resource use in home care.Methods:A 3 patient case series of non-healing wounds (differing etiologies) for at least 26 weeks were being treated with traditional wound care methods that failed to manage heavy exudate, stalling the coordinated biochemical cascade necessary for normal wound healing.  The wounds were documented from the time the primary dressing was changed to an innovative moisture management dressing* containing patented wicking technology** designed to remove excess exudate while maintaining optimal moisture healing.  Appropriate secondary dressings, compression, and debridement of non-viable tissue was performed as indicated.  Outcomes analyzed included: amount and quality of exudate, healing rates, time-to-heal, and resources used.Results:By switching from the non-effective traditional methods to the innovative moisture management dressing*, all 3 patients' wounds significantly decreased in size within 4 weeks, between a 41.5-98% decrease, and healed within 5-18 weeks. Drainage steadily decreased and the quality of the exudate improved in all patients.  The increased cost of each dressing when switching to the innovative moisture management dressing* was mitigated by an 80% decrease in the frequency of dressing changes.Discussion: The benefits of using the innovative moisture management dressing* with best practice wound management has the potential to revolutionize wound care in the home health setting.  Though further research is warranted, the improved outcomes and decreased resource use demonstrated in this case series will be essential as Medicare considers moving to a Value Based Care reimbursement strategy.  Home health agencies will need to choose between using advanced dressings that ultimately negates cost and resource concerns versus staying with treatments that fail to create an optimal wound healing environment, place patients at higher risk for complications, and increase the possibility of not being reimbursed for their efforts.References:1. Sun Y, Ge Y, Ruan S., et al. Prospects for the application of home care in chronic wound management. J Family Med Prim Care 2023; 12:422-5. 2. Lindholm C, Searle R. Wound management for the 21st century: combining effectiveness and efficiency. Int Wound J 2016;13(suppl. S2):5-15. 3. Nussbaum SR, Carter MJ, Fife CE, et al. An economic evaluation of the impact, cost, and Medicare policy implications of chronic nonhealing wounds. Value Health 2018;221(1):27-32. 4.Jones VJ. The use of gauze: will it ever change? Int Wound J 2006; 3:79-86.