Wound care costs in general practice - a cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• General Practice Management
• Wound Care Economics

Background:

• Wound management significantly burdens healthcare services and resource allocation.
• Current wound management practices require auditing to understand associated costs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the economic impact of wound care within general practice settings.
• To audit current wound management practices and their financial viability.

Main Methods:

• An audit of wound care episodes was conducted across eighteen general practices.
• Data collection spanned a 14-day period in December 2011.

Main Results:

• Most of the 332 wound care episodes resulted in a net financial loss for the practices.
• General practitioner care represented the largest cost component.
• Medicare Benefits Schedule items constituted the primary source of income.

Conclusions:

• General practices are largely failing to recover the expenses associated with providing wound care.
• Policy makers and general practices must reassess wound care funding and management strategies.
• Ensuring equitable and optimal patient care necessitates a review of current financial models.