patient noncompliance

About 89 percent of people who come to doctors’ offices have already Googled their symptoms, notes D. Scott Covington, MD, FACS, CWSP. He says most patients wanted to see how serious their health condition was before going to an actual doctor. “They’re armed with misinformation. They’re really on the wrong path,” Dr. Covington told the audience at his presentation at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall.

An important step in wound management is identifying wound etiology. Pinpointing the problem often helps guide patient treatment. Identifying the cause of the wound, employing evidence-based interventions, and initiating an appropriate topical therapy will help to stabilize and, oftentimes, heal the wound. However, the decisions patients make on a daily basis, along with activities (time spent in bed, chair, with legs dependent, etc), have a significant impact on healing outcomes, independent of the wound care professional. Patient-centered education is a huge piece of effective self-management and an essential component of the nursing plan of care. This blog will focus on the importance of initial and ongoing patient-centered education in chronic wound management.