When you think about what this means to clinical practice, these new changes and terminology provides the perfect opportunity to ensure policies and procedures reflect these updates.Consider how you'll revise your education documents and teachings.
The term “pressure ulcer” did not technically include intact skin.
Stage one is now classified by non-blanchable erythema of intact skin.
Nursing home negligence occurs when homes neglect the very residents they are supposed to protect.
One of the more common injuries resulting from this is pressure ulcers, or as they are called now “pressure injuries,” according to the This is more than just a change in terminology though, as it was made because it better describes the actual injury.
Preventing pressure injuries has always been a challenge, not just for caregivers, but also for the health care industry as a whole, because the epidemiology of pressure injuries varies by clinical setting, and is a potentially preventable condition.
The development of pressure ulcers or injuries can interfere with the patient’s functional recovery, may be complicated by pain and infection, and can contribute to longer hospital stays.
Our wound care nurses recently changed their verbiage to pressure injury instead of pressure ulcer.
Since the two are not coded the same, we are telling our physicians not to document pressure injury.
The NPUAP’s most recent definition of a pressure injury states: A pressure injury is localized damage to the skin and/or underlying soft tissue usually over a bony prominence or related to a medical or other device.