App helps with pressure ulcer care

A mobile app in use in Canada is designed to improve care for pressure ulcers by upgrading from paper-based charting, integrating images of wounds, allowing for remote consultation and offering tutorial support for non-specialized caregivers, according to research published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Pressure ulcers are a "leading iatrogenic cause of death in developed countries and significantly impact quality of life for those affected," according to the paper, and will be an increasing public health concern as the population ages.

The app, developed for Android smartphones and tablets, provides an EHR for chronic wounds, replacing nurses' paper-based charting. Wound images were a key benefit of the app during the user trial. Showing a wound photograph to patients was particularly useful when the wound was in a location that the patient would otherwise not be able to see, such as the buttocks, back of the legs or under the foot. 

"The user trial yielded insights regarding the software application's design and functionality in the clinical setting, and highlighted the key role of wound photographs in enhancing patient and caregiver experiences, enhancing communication between multiple healthcare professionals and leveraging the software's telehealth capacities," stated the paper.

The app also offers data organization and analysis including built-in alerts, automatically-generated text-based and graph-based wound histories. 

"The wound care app, as a prototype mHealth application, can contribute to improved documentation and compliance of wound care, while offering distinct benefits in the form of telehealth capabilities and automated data organization and interpretation that provides the user with information easily overlooked in a paper-based file," concluded the article. "While electronic documentation is certainly not the sole or defining factor between poor patient outcomes and good patient outcomes, electronic documentation can potentially contribute to more effective communication and collection of patient information, resulting in more effective patient care."