wound care formulary

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Jun 14, 2002

I'd love to help you, but I have never done this, and I am not even sure we have one. Try a post in the Wound Care Nurses forum too. Also, try http://www.wocn.org the wound care nurses society, I think they have a message board, but you may have to be a member to post.

bandaidexpert, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2002

I'm not sure what you mean by a "formulary", but I am the wound care coordinator at our LTC facility. I have instituted protocols using specific products. I do know that I am constantly dodging salesman who want to sell me a ton of stuff. With the protocols, the nurses don't have to call the docs, they just initiate the protocol and write the order. (Of course they have to notify the MD)Our protocols have been very effective and cost efficient. I have never worked in a hospital, but I have heard the wound care "protocol" is very vague. Alot of Duoderm and Comfeel.

sunnygirl272 · Jun 15, 2002

hoolahan..thanks for the wound forum suggestion...lol, hadnot scrolled down far enough to see that one..lol..

bandaid- well, we were approached by a convatec rep about this...in theory it could be wonderful...except i don't know as i have alot of faith in their products...we would not be entirely limited to their products, but would be "encouraged " to use a certain %age of their stuff..i mean that a certain %age of our products used should be theirs...but nothing like we'd be sued for not using them..but could lose our ability to use them for free stuff for fallingthroughtthecrack pts, and the option of using their extra special product specialists...the formualry would be like for this type of wound with this type of drainage, use this product, for that type of wound with this ype of drainage use this product....all nurses would have the basic formulary...the wound care team would have "the bonus formulary" i like the formulary idea..but not sure about the convatec products...

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2002

I don't know susan, they had an excellent rep w ostomy supplies, and it would be a plus for the nurses recommending consistent wound care. I have noticed it takes new HH nurses a while to get comfortable w what to do w a wound that wasn't on the referral, and no orders provided in advance. Getting the nurses used to using products that yes may be a tad more expensive, but will eliminate the guesswork, and hopefully result in better outcomes and faster healing. And free stuff?? I could have used that last weekend, what a mess of a case I opened. Sometimes you just want to call those HMO's and SCREAM for not getting supplies into the home fast enough!!!

I'm going to mention this to my adon, who is our acting wound specialist. She's not certified, but she should be, she is excellent.

sunnygirl272 · Jun 15, 2002

well, in theory the formulary products would not be as expensive as ie ns w-d/w-m dressings due to longer wear time=less visits. i really like the rep we have, very accomodating and earnest about her products..but duoderm & i have never had a good relationship...have never in 10 yrs seen a wound heal w/ duoderm, other than abrasions from tape burn....anyhoo...anyone had any experience w/ their wound products???? i must admit i am intrigued by the aquacel, but only op to se was w/ freebies for a hospice client i had..and nothing was gonna heal his pressure ulcer or control his drainage!!! :crying2:

melinda :nurse:

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Jun 15, 2002

Melinda, a thousand apologies for using the wrong name, where the heck did I get susan from? I don't have alzhiemer's, I have sometimers, please forgive me. :kiss

I haven't actualy worked with any particular product of theirs, as we use whatever the our DME co gets cheapest that week, unless there is a specific order to a name-brand product.

I love duoderm. I have seem many a sacral decub, if caught early, heal with it, esp for bedboud pt's who are incontinent. Keeping the moisture from urine and stool in and of itself is a valuable thing in those cases. I must admit though, I have a heel decub that did not do well with duoderm, in fact it appeared to get more macerated at the edges, which baffled me. I switched to carrington gel and it is now finally healing. I would say the support you are getting from the rep alone is good. Make sure you tell them to feed the nurses when they come for inservices, donuts, pizza, and bring trinkets, like disposable wound measuring plastics, that can be used in each pt's home (each pt keeps their own) to use over and over. pocket wound care guidelines for nurses bags, stuff like that.

I wasn't sure about aquacel, so I checked it out http://www.convatec.com/en_US/products/information/woundcare/woundCareRepository/aquacel.html and yes, I have used it. I had a lady w an open leg wound s/p cabg vein harvest and we used this stuff in the wound d/t high exudate, it's nice b/c it really absorbs a lot of drainage.

sunnygirl272 · Jun 15, 2002

teehee..i dunno where ya got susan either...but perhaps this link can shed some light...

:idea: http://www.aricept.com ....hee-hee....

(just kidding) :devil:

anyhoooo..g'night for now...

melinda..susan..whatever....;d

TopazStone · Jun 15, 2002

We just had an inservice from a wound care nurse. Some supply companies are hiring them and they will come and do consults and F/U. They even call the doc to ask for treatments. Check around to see if you can find one in your area. They will give you info on products and pressure relief devices. They even have a nurse on-call 24/7!

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jun 15, 2002

I understand about the wound care formulary. My home care agency developed one based on input from our CETN's, Nrsg mgmt and field staff on wound care committee.

We had been dealing with Sterling Medical for several years for office nursing supplies and chose them as our wound care DME supplier. Due to the cost of supplies, we develped supply list formulary based on wound stages. We have three different products that the nurses can chose from listed that are appropriate for each stage. Difficult wounds or unusual ones are referred to CETN on admission for review. Nurses are encouraged to have CETN see patients q 1-2 months for review. We also have wound care center associated with our hospital for whirlpool/debridement as indicated.

This week we are having a WOUND CARE FAIR as a way of documenting wound care competency. All nurses have signed up for 1 hr blocks. Several different stations are set up for nurses to demonstrate measuring and product selection; how to use specialty products eg VAC system and review our protocals.

Check out Sterling Medical Services website. Since this is an independent DME company, you will not receive pressure to use just one company's products...you can choose what you have seen work for your patients. Another nice feature is you can order just ONE item at a time to see how it works---without wasting a whole box supplies. They also will do cost reports too. I'm sure there are other suppliers out there doing the same thing.

They ship products UPS.

Sterling Medical Services http://www.sterlingmedical.com/

is a national full line provider of disposable medical products including wound care, ostomy, urological, and diabetic supplies. Program services include data collection and management that monitor product utilization and patient outcomes. These programs provide a unique analysis of wound outcome and their relationship to other patient variables.

Check out their Home Health Programs:

"As part of our SterlingSolutionsTM program, we provide the resources necessary to assist your agency in developing and implementing wound, ostomy, continence, and diabetic protocol programs. We then provide a constant monitoring system to ensure compliance. Monthly reporting is provided to ensure economic and healing outcomes. "

http://www.sterlingmedical.com/solutions/home_health_agencies.asp

sunnygirl272 · Jun 16, 2002

hoolahan....i was only kidding about the aricept...hope ya aren't mad @ me... :crying2:

:chair:

bandaidexpert, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2002

Melinda...It sounds like a formulary is just like a protocol, however, I would not be hasty in going with Convatec. There are alot of other companies out there that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Just remember when it comes to wound care, consistency is the key. We have a protocol for a Stage I to skin tears. We use the same products for each wound type, unless it is a special case. Again, our protocols have been very effective.