The Viability and Acceptability of a Virtual Wound Care Command Centre in Australia

Stud Health Technol Inform. 2024 Jan 25:310:379-383. doi: 10.3233/SHTI230991.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess the viability and acceptability of an innovative Virtual Wound Care Command Centre where patients in the community, and their treating clinicians, have access to an expert wound specialist service that comprises a digital wound application (app) for wound analysis, decision-making, remote consultation, and monitoring. Fifty-one patients with chronic (42.6%) wounds were healed, with a median time to healing of 66 (95% CI: 56-88) days. All patients reported high satisfaction with their wound care, 86.4% of patients recommended the Virtual Wound Care Command Centre with 84.1% of patients reporting the app as easy to use. The data revealed that the Virtual Wound Care Command Centre was a viable and acceptable patient-centred expert wound consultation service for chronic wound patients in the community.

Keywords: Chronic wounds; digital wound application; telehealth; virtual care; wound care.

MeSH terms

  • Australia
  • Humans
  • Remote Consultation*
  • Trauma Centers
  • Wound Healing