Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia
Chronic wounds cost the Australian health system at least US$2·85 billion per year. Wound care services in Australia involve a complex mix of treatment options, health care sectors and funding mechanisms. It is clear that implementation of evidence-based wound care coincides with large health improv...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
2016
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46607 |
| _version_ | 1848757606244417536 |
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| author | Norman, R. Gibb, M. Dyer, A. Prentice, Jennifer Yelland, S. Cheng, Q. Lazzarini, P. Carville, K. Innes-Walker, K. Finlayson, K. Edwards, H. Burn, E. Graves, N. |
| author_facet | Norman, R. Gibb, M. Dyer, A. Prentice, Jennifer Yelland, S. Cheng, Q. Lazzarini, P. Carville, K. Innes-Walker, K. Finlayson, K. Edwards, H. Burn, E. Graves, N. |
| author_sort | Norman, R. |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Chronic wounds cost the Australian health system at least US$2·85 billion per year. Wound care services in Australia involve a complex mix of treatment options, health care sectors and funding mechanisms. It is clear that implementation of evidence-based wound care coincides with large health improvements and cost savings, yet the majority of Australians with chronic wounds do not receive evidence-based treatment. High initial treatment costs, inadequate reimbursement, poor financial incentives to invest in optimal care and limitations in clinical skills are major barriers to the adoption of evidence-based wound care. Enhanced education and appropriate financial incentives in primary care will improve uptake of evidence-based practice. Secondary-level wound specialty clinics to fill referral gaps in the community, boosted by appropriate credentialing, will improve access to specialist care. In order to secure funding for better services in a competitive environment, evidence of cost-effectiveness is required. Future effort to generate evidence on the cost-effectiveness of wound management interventions should provide evidence that decision makers find easy to interpret. If this happens, and it will require a large effort of health services research, it could be used to inform future policy and decision-making activities, reduce health care costs and improve patient outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:30:46Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-46607 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T09:30:46Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-466072017-09-13T14:08:02Z Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia Norman, R. Gibb, M. Dyer, A. Prentice, Jennifer Yelland, S. Cheng, Q. Lazzarini, P. Carville, K. Innes-Walker, K. Finlayson, K. Edwards, H. Burn, E. Graves, N. Chronic wounds cost the Australian health system at least US$2·85 billion per year. Wound care services in Australia involve a complex mix of treatment options, health care sectors and funding mechanisms. It is clear that implementation of evidence-based wound care coincides with large health improvements and cost savings, yet the majority of Australians with chronic wounds do not receive evidence-based treatment. High initial treatment costs, inadequate reimbursement, poor financial incentives to invest in optimal care and limitations in clinical skills are major barriers to the adoption of evidence-based wound care. Enhanced education and appropriate financial incentives in primary care will improve uptake of evidence-based practice. Secondary-level wound specialty clinics to fill referral gaps in the community, boosted by appropriate credentialing, will improve access to specialist care. In order to secure funding for better services in a competitive environment, evidence of cost-effectiveness is required. Future effort to generate evidence on the cost-effectiveness of wound management interventions should provide evidence that decision makers find easy to interpret. If this happens, and it will require a large effort of health services research, it could be used to inform future policy and decision-making activities, reduce health care costs and improve patient outcomes. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46607 10.1111/iwj.12538 Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd restricted |
| spellingShingle | Norman, R. Gibb, M. Dyer, A. Prentice, Jennifer Yelland, S. Cheng, Q. Lazzarini, P. Carville, K. Innes-Walker, K. Finlayson, K. Edwards, H. Burn, E. Graves, N. Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia |
| title | Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia |
| title_full | Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia |
| title_fullStr | Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia |
| title_short | Improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for Australia |
| title_sort | improved wound management at lower cost: a sensible goal for australia |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/46607 |