1 2 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A R C H 2 0 1 9
W
hen your
patients
leave
your
facility,
they should know all the do's
and don'ts of wound care.
If their wound is changing
colors, they should know
what that means, and if it
starts to feel dry, they should
know who to call. They need to understand that a dip in the hot tub is
a never event while their incision is healing.
"For surgical wounds, it's the patient and caregiver who have to do
the management," says Kathleen Heneghan, PhD, MSN, RN, PN-C.
"There's very little to help guide the family in doing that."
Patients yearn for guidance to care for their surgical wounds, says
Dr. Heneghan, assistant director for surgical patient education for the
American College of Surgeons (ACS). But the resources to help them
navigate their care can be hard to find. Even if they have a visiting
aide or nurse checking in during the week, patients still need the
basics to navigate those post-op days of recovery at home.
Here are 5 ways you can send your patients home with confidence.
1. Educate patients before surgery
The education on
wound care shouldn't start in the recovery room. Patients do better
when that discussion starts during the appointments leading up to sur-
Matthew Nojiri | Senior Associate Editor
A Plan for Wound Care
5 steps to ensure your patients can care for their wounds at home.
• DISCHARGE DISASTERS Patients who don't get the right guid-
ance for their wounds can end up with costly infections.
American
College
of
Surgeons