Pressure injuries are increasingly recognised as a significant health issue in the Hospital and Aged Care sector. Despite efforts to mitigate their impact on the global healthcare system, current protocols remain inefficient, costly, and difficult to maintain. Therefore, LenexaCARE, an advanced sensor-based solution, is at the forefront of revolutionising the prevention and treatment of pressure injuries.
Gaps in the Current Approach to Pressure Injuries
Pressure injuries (PIs), also known as pressure ulcers or bedsores, are painful and often preventable health concerns that are becoming more prevalent worldwide, especially with the globally ageing population. Pressure injuries not only increase morbidity and mortality but also lead to significant personal burden for patients, including pain, stress, and reduced quality of life. The financial impact is substantial, costing over $200 billion globally each year, including $9 billion in Australia, and places a heavy burden on both healthcare facilities and caregivers.
“Stage 1 pressure injury can begin to develop within 2-6 hours of prolonged pressurised areas, with potential to quickly escalate to Stage 2 and 3, resulting in severe injuries that may take months to years to fully heal. THe elderly and less mobile individuals, who are less able to offload pressure points, are particularly prone to these injuries.” – National Library of Medicine
Despite being largely preventable, pressure injuries remain a common issue. International guidelines and various studies suggest regular repositioning effectively addresses the problem of PI treatment. However, implementing such best practices has proved to be labour-intensive and resource-demanding under current protocols. Specifically, current methods require patients repositioning every 2-4 hours with individualised schedules tailored to the patient’s specific activity level, mobility, and ability to reposition independently. However, with a large number of patients, this practice is both inefficient and prone to be missed or ineffectively completed. And most importantly, the increased risk of pressure injuries is only identified once they have already reached stage 1 visibility, meaning care is mostly reactive and crucial prevention opportunities are often missed.
LenexaCARE – An Advanced AI and Sensor-Based Solution
With inefficiency in the current protocols for Pressure Injury prevention and treatment, Lenexa Medical has developed LenexaCARE – a pioneering and effective solution equipped with advanced sensor-based technology. LenexaCARE’s smart sensors and AI-powered software automatically detects and records patients’ and residents’ on-bed positioning data continuously and accurately. Real-time and non-subjective patient analysis on pressurised areas are provided to clinicians and carers, ensuring timely pressure offloading and repositioning, thus fostering best practice care through efficient and effective PI prevention for healthcare facilities.
Moreover, LenexaCARE’s real-time monitoring and risk stratification analysis enables prompt interventions by providing on-time notifications to ensure timely repositioning and responsiveness of care. To maintain an effective turning protocol, the LenexaCARE system ensures that pressurised areas are offloaded for at least 15 minutes. This approach provides clinicians with valuable insights into ineffective or missed turns and enhances clinical outcomes by improving turning compliance. Furthermore, LenexaCARE’s smart system is run by advanced machine learning on personalised patient data, thus providing caregivers with tailored repositioning notifications to maintain flexible and individualised care schedules.
Facilities equipped with LenexaCARE’s data-driven solution have seen improved patient outcomes, with reduced incidence of pressure injury development and faster, more complete recoveries. Furthermore, LenexaCARE enables standardisation of care practices and compliance with healthcare regulations and best-practice to ensure all patients and residents receive high-quality care.
Patient safety is significantly improved as data helps proactively identify and mitigate risks. Better outcomes and personalised care improve patient satisfaction and trust in the healthcare system. Continuous improvement is facilitated by identifying areas for enhancement, helping healthcare providers continuously improve their practices and outcomes. Ultimately, a data-driven approach reduces costs associated with treatment and extended hospital stays, making it a cost-effective solution for healthcare facilities.
Learn more about the Advanced AI and Sensor-based LenexaCARE® solution to Pressure Injuries Today!
Reference
Nghiem, S., Campbell, J., Walker, R. M., Byrnes, J., & Chaboyer, W. (2022). Pressure injuries in Australian public hospitals: a cost of illness study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 130(1), 104191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2022.104191
Lyder, C. H., & Ayello, E. A. (2008). Pressure Ulcers: A Patient Safety Issue (R. G. Hughes, Ed.). PubMed; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2650/#:~:text=Pressure%20ulcers%20can%20develop%20within%202%20to%206%20hours.
