October 18, 2021 | Net Health
3 Minute Read
Net Health Recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Wound Care & HBOT Play a Role in Helping Surgical Wounds to Heal
By Scott Burdick, Compliance Analyst, Net Health
It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month. That means that in October, we are seeing and hearing a lot about how breast cancer impacts the more than 270,000 people diagnosed with the disease each year and the 3.8 million living with it today.
But there’s another chapter to our nation’s breast cancer story. How doctors, clinicians, scientists, researchers and manufacturers treat, manage and ultimately cure the devastating disease. Net Health plays an essential role in part of that story: managing wounds that may occur after surgery or radiation.
Net Health and HBOT
Despite clinicians’ best efforts, wounds do occur after cancer treatment. For example, a patient’s mastectomy incision may reopen, resulting in a condition known as Soft Tissue Radionecrosis (STRN), the death of soft tissues as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation. The wounds are painful, prolong recovery – often recurring over years if left untreated – and add needless discomfort and worry to those trying to move on with their lives.
To ensure patients’ safety and health, surgeons may refer patients to clinics that specialize in wound care and hyperbaric medicine. Clinicians at these facilities often prescribe Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) as it encourages the growth of new blood vessels and assists with the transfer of oxygen and white blood cells where needed. Proponents believe it promotes faster healing and reduces pain.
Net Health provides a number of tools and resources to help clinicians caring for wounds related to breast cancer. For example, with Net Health® Wound Care (NHWC), clinicians can track treatments authorized under the patient’s benefit plan, schedule recurring visits, monitor status to see when physician visits are needed (for insurance authorization and to check progress) and more. For example, to create efficiencies, wound and HBO care can be scheduled in the same visit or separately, depending on how the Wound Care Center operates and bills the procedure.
These capabilities are important components of a wound care EHR. Documentation requirements for HBOT are extensive and insurance companies require meticulous and accurate documentation before approving claims. Wound care clinics that use Net Health Wound Care play a pivotal role in making sure that patients receive the care needed, that necessary authorizations are secured, comorbidities recorded and addressed, and timely wound care appointments scheduled.
We’re proud to play a small yet vital role in the care and treatment of patients with breast cancer. Net Health salutes all clinicians and wound care providers who care for people with breast cancer as we stop to recognize the impact of this devastating disease not only this month but throughout the year. Thank you for all you do!
Learn more about Net Health® Wound Care and HBOT.
About Scott Burdick
Scott is a Compliance Analyst at Net Health. He is also a certified hyperbaric technologist with nearly nine years of patient care experience. Prior to joining Net Health, he was a compliance analyst and administrator with UPMC Health Plan in Pittsburgh, PA.
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