At a wound care center, it is reasonable to expect about 40% of patients to be new to the hospital and that 15% on their first visit will require hospital admission, ambulatory surgery, or angiography, Dr. Steed said. Nearly all wound center patients use radiology and laboratory services.
In another presentation, Dr. David Hurley said that he initially balked at the idea of opening a comprehensive wound care center at the hospital in which he worked as a general plastic surgeon and vice president. After the hospital opened a center without his support, he was later offered the opportunity to become its medical director.
He learned that his skepticism of wound care treatments, such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, was unfounded. "They sent me off to a couple courses, and what I learned was that my understanding of comprehensive wound care had really stopped back with my residency training. It had not been a focus of my training," he said.
"One of the things driving the interest in the development of comprehensive wound care centers is the fact that we now have a much better understanding of the biochemistry and physiology of problem wounds," he said.
Dr. Hurley spent more and more time at the center and began looking at it as a possible exit strategy from his plastic surgery practice. Three years ago, he left his medical practice to become the chief medical officer of the management company that had helped to set up the center. That company, Diversified Clinical Services, Jacksonville, Fla., partners with hospitals to manage, operate, and develop comprehensive wound care centers.
Dermatologists can offer their expertise in wound care by directing or even opening up their own clinic. DR. KIRSNER