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Oral Abstracts (Session 4 of 5)
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Moderator: Cindy Felty, RN, CNP, CWS (Presentation 35.2) The development of public policy for improved client outcomes in wound care Corrine McIsaac, MEd, RN, St Francis Xavier University, Department of Nursing, Nova Scotia, Canada Introduction: It is well recognized that the development of clinical guidelines/protocols alone does not guarantee their use. Instead, a process that involves outcome measurement and policy support is positioned to assist healthcare practitioners to implement and sustain best practice. A multidisciplinary team from the Department of Health has taken their commitment for improved client outcomes for those suffering with wounds to the provincial policy level to support best practice. The overall objective with this public policy was 2-fold: 1) to set a standard of care and 2) to support case managers and care providers at the field level in their efforts to deliver best practice. Methods: The development of this policy to support best practice has evolved over a 4-year period. The process has included 4 main themes: standardization, education, outcome measurement, and government involvement. The policy has added credibility and has documented the commitment the government has to improving outcomes for clients requiring wound care. Results: Ongoing data collection reflects improved healing times, improved discharge rates, improved quality of life, improved use of human resources (decreased nursing visits for wound care from 20 per client per month to 7 to 8 per client per month), and an overall substantial financial reallocation. Additional benefits include client, nurse, and physician satisfaction with the service. Conclusion: The process utilized in this real-world experience has created a successful framework for the implementation of best practice. This approach, which includes continuous quality improvement and policy support, can result in better client, clinical, and economic outcomes. It is our belief that we can demonstrate that implementation of a policy, standardization of care, and monitoring of outcomes can significantly improve client, clinical, and economic outcomes. |
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