The cost of wound care
Today, wound care remains a significant cost burden on healthcare systems. The estimated annual UK NHS cost of wound care is £2.3bn – £3.1bn (or three percent of total expenditure on health in 2005/06).1
Understanding the key drivers of cost provides opportunities for improving care and reducing overall costs.
Some of the most important determinants of costs include:2
- Increased hospital admissions attributable to wounds
- Delayed discharge
- Nurse time managing wounds
- Frequency of dressing changes
"...the most important component of wound cost overall is the cost incurred by the relatively small number of patients who are admitted to hospital (or whose discharge is delayed) because of wound complications"2
In a recent wound care audit of approximately 590,000 people (in the United Kingdom), it was estimated that around 80% of total costs are attributable to factors unrelated to the costs of the dressings themselves.2
Simply reducing dressing costs is unlikely to have a significant effect on expenditure.2
To find out more about cost drivers, how dressings with Hydrofiber® Technology contribute to the control of cost drivers and the evidence which supports their effectiveness, please click on the links provided.