Up until now, this blog series has focused primarily on higher-level concepts and broader strokes as we discuss the impact of predictive analytics in healthcare. And before we get started, if you haven’t read those earlier discussions just yet, I’d highly encourage you to take a minute to do so as those blogs help to lay the foundation and groundwork for this and our future discussions.
Today, though, I’d like to go deeper and look at the potential opportunities predictive analytics brings to the table within a specific industry—the wound care industry. And even if you’re not a dedicated wound care provider, you may want to stick around, especially if you’re in the hospital setting, as the potential for savings and growth exists across the spectrum of healthcare.
Let’s start by looking at a real-world example of a predictive analytics solution being used in the wound care space.
Predicting Wound Healing Rates
Tissue Analytics, a Net Health company, created a digital imaging tool that helps to measure and classify wounds through the use of a smartphone application. Hospitals that have used the technology have seen a 40% increase in measurement accuracy and precision, with error rates dropping below 4% compared to 44% when using manual measurement methods.*
This technology, when used in the Net Health Wound Care electronic health record, is now being leveraged to help predict the healing rate of wounds. By looking at things like size, shape, tissue composition, oxygen levels, and past cases, the solution is helping providers to offer better treatment regimes, more appropriately allocate resources, and improve treatment outcomes.
Impact to Hospitals
In hospital settings, the ability to better manage wounds is a big issue where providers stand to gain or lose a lot. Hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) are a major issue that affects between 5% and 15% of hospital patients.1 The costs associated with HAPIs in the U.S. are $26.8 billion annually with the average case costing up to $70,000.2,3 On top of this, HAPIs are the second most common hospital lawsuit claim as they lead to an astounding 60,000 deaths per year.4 The average settlement of a HAPI lawsuit is right around a quarter of a million dollars.
Real World Uses
As you can see, having the ability to predict the outcomes of wounds and offer better treatment regimens to limit the onset or reduce the impact of HAPIs is important. Here are some other real-world uses of predictive analytics:
- Use existing data to identify patients at a higher risk for amputation
- Benchmark actual results vs. predictive results to find areas for improvement
- Reduce the impact of patients missing appointments by applying predictive analytics to scheduling
- Ease the burden of documentation and tedious tasks
- Gain patient buy-in by tangibly demonstrating projected healing times
If you’d like to learn more about these benefits and even more as we continue our discussion on predictive analytics in healthcare, I’d highly encourage you to follow this account as we continue on together.
And if you haven’t read our earlier blogs in the series, I’d encourage you to check those out as well.
The Future of Wound Care: Predictive Analytics
Changing the way wound care clinics operate and treat patients
1. N. Mondragon, P. Zito, Pressure Injury. StatPearls. Dec. 2021.
2. WV Padula, BA Delarmente. The national cost of hospital-acquired pressure injuries in the United States. Int Wound J. June 2019.
3. NA Vitale, DA Dzioba. Why investing in hospital-acquired pressure injury prevention technology makes financial sense. Healthcare Finance News. Feb. 2021.
4. L. Spruce. Back to Basics: Preventing Perioperative Pressure Injuries,” AORN, Oct. 2017.
