SPECIAL ARTICLES   

Acta Vulnologica 2006 June;4(2):91-7

Copyright © 2006 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Wound care disease management: from guidelines to improvement of care

Fuarlini S. ¹, Somà K. ², Rizzati C. ², Beltrame L. ²

¹ Medico di Medicina Generale ASL 7 Volpiano (TO) Esperto in Wound Care 2 Servizio di Cure Domiciliari ASL 7 Chivasso, Torino: Distretto di Settimo Torinese

The impact of cutaneous ulcerative lesions on healthcare services can most certainly be characterized these days as high. Almost 50% of the activities performed by our Regional Healthcare Services involve managing bedsore wounds and the problems associated with them. These epidemiological data have led many countries in Europe and elsewhere to give careful thought to this particular pathology. The need to respond to problems by using methods and providing services based on proven efficacy have pushed health authorities to create clinical practice Guidelines in order to standardize medical interventions at high levels of appropriateness, efficacy and efficiency. An integrated system of care implies that there are several levels of medical intervention provided, ranging from patient education, application of the guidelines, appropriate medical consultations, to the availability of an adequate range of effective drugs and/or products and services. Creating multidisciplinary teams within our healthcare services is the first step toward standardization. In the era of Evidence Based Medicine and Nursing, there is no longer any room for habitual practices or carelessness and guesswork, or imprecise, oral traditions.