Untersuchung der Qualität integrierter chronischer Wundversorgung anhand von Patientendaten des Wundzentrums Bremen ; Investigation into the quality of an integrated chronic wound care provision system referencing patient data from a wound care centre in Bremen

Background: Chronic wounds are a widespread and very cost-intensive problem. An adequate care provision of chronic wounds therefore represents a big challenge both for the patients themselves as well as for society as a whole, particularly with an ageing society and the increasing cost pressure. The necessity to reinforce integrative care structures can be regarded as a very important task, especially in Germany as the division between the different health care sectors - particularly between the ambulatory and the stationary sector - is traditionally very high, which leads to meaningful losses with regard to the efficiency of the related care provision. The relevance of this issue appears even higher if chronic wounds are regarded as a major cause of morbidity in the population (Franks 2007) and if the impact of chronic leg ulceration on the patients' quality of life is taken into account.Aim: Nowadays a multidisciplinary wound care provision system is often regarded as an optimal way to improve the treatment quality and, as a result, the patient's quality of life. However, little is still known about the long-term effects on the patient's quality of life on the one hand and the medical outcomes including costs on the other hand. In this study these long-term effects were investigated by the analysis of patient data collected at a local wound care centre which opened in April 2007.Methods: Within the scope of the multidisciplinary wound care provision, data on the quality of life of patients who suffer from chronic wounds was analysed at four points in time - at the beginning, after 4 weeks, after 12 weeks and after 24 weeks - using both a generic (Nottingham Health Profile) as well as a wound-specific measuring instrument (the so called 'Würzburger Wundscore'). In addition to this, the wound documentations were analysed with regard to relevant medical parameters and costs. Throughout this approach it was possible to map long-term changes to all relevant outcome measures (quality of life, medical parameters, ...