Challenging wounds in the home care environment

Although principles of wound care management are the same as any other means of healthcare delivery, how you deliver care in the home is different. Patients in the home care setting have very different needs than patients in more controlled environments. When dealing with patients in the home setting there are more obstacles to overcome than in environments such as the hospital or extended care facility. Getting the patient to comply to the orders you give can be difficult. Also, the goals of patients do not always match the goals of their healthcare providers. Therefore, the caregiver must alter the goals of treatment accordingly for each patient. This manuscript illustrates two case studies in which the needs and priorities of the home care patient guided changes in the goals of caregiving.