Wound Management: Skin Assessment and Wound Identification

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Video Runtime: 35 Minutes; Learning Assessment Time: 29 Minutes

Wound care costs are growing across the home health spectrum for patients, government-funded health care, private insurances, and home health agencies. Therefore, continuous education on wounds and skin assessment is an ongoing necessity. In being an active home health provider, it is important to start with the basics of skin assessment and wound identification in order to understand treatment, prevention, and further advanced wound care. This course will educate on skin assessment in the home and instruct on how to differentiate and properly identify different types of wounds in the home.

Meet your instructor

Carrie Adkins

Carrie is currently working as a care manager II wound care nurse for myNEXUS. At myNEXUS, she helps home health agencies with their authorizations for wound and ostomy skilled nursing visits, ensuring that patients are receiving proper and appropriate wound and ostomy care. Prior to working at myNEXUS, she had been an RN in…

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Chapters & learning objectives

1. Skin Assessment

We will discuss skin assessment using tools such as the Braden Scale. We will also discuss the importance of regularly assessing the skin, such as on admission to your home health agency, at an important time point, or during a noticeable decline in health status. A case study/scenario will be discussed in this course, with a follow-up at the end of the presentation.

2. Pressure Injuries and Ulcers

This chapter will go deeply into the importance of identifying and assessing pressure injuries and ulcers and deep-tissue/unstageable injuries in the home. We will discuss the importance of accuracy with properly identifying pressure injuries as it can affect payment, treatment, as well as qualification for pressure-relieving overlays for bed and wheelchair.

3. Identifying Venous Stasis Ulcers vs. Arterial Ulcers

We will discuss how to identify the difference between venous and arterial ulcers and their characteristics. It is important to have a proper diagnosis for these two ulcers, as the wrong treatment can cause further damage. Challenges in home care with these wounds will be discussed.

4. Diabetes- and Neuropathy-Related Ulcers

Diabetic and neuropathic wounds are on the rise in the home care population. Characteristics of diabetic wounds will be reviewed. Common findings in the home regarding diabetic wounds will be discussed in detail, including very important information on how to educate the patient.

5. Skin Conditions and Miscellaneous Wounds

Miscellaneous skin conditions and wounds that may not be addressed in a specific wound category in home care will be identified, especially when Oasis assessments are completed. Conditions reviewed include skin tears, deep hematomas, burns (including radiation), incontinence dermatitis, fungal skin breakdown, and surgical wounds.

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