Pressure Injury Prevention
Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries are a persistent problem for patients and healthcare facilities around the country. Learn about why they happen and Ocuvera’s approach to helping nurses prevent and manage them.
Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries
What are HAPIs?
Hospital-Acquired Pressure Injuries (HAPIs), also known as pressure ulcers or bed sores, are a common risk facing patients in healthcare facilities. In the United States, 2.5 million patients develop HAPIs per year. Many different types of patients are at risk of developing or worsening HAPIs during their hospital stays, especially elderly patients or patients likely to spend long periods of time without moving. HAPIs have a very detrimental impact on patient quality of life and are costly for hospitals to treat. Despite their seriousness and some effective methods for preventing them, HAPIs remain a persistent problem.
Approaches
how to prevent pressure injuries
There are various methods nurses use to address HAPIs, including managing skin moisture, temperature, nutrition, and comorbidities that may contribute to HAPI development. The primary and most effective approach to preventing HAPIs is turning patients regularly. However, even when using evidence-based HAPI risk assessment scales and turning protocols, HAPIs can still be a significant problem for hospitals, possibly due to a combination of ineffective communication or difficulty in maintaining adequate records on when and how patients were turned.
Ocuvera's Solution
Digital Hapi monitoring
Ocuvera’s digital pressure injury monitoring facilitates effective recordkeeping and helps nurses keep track of when they turned their patients. In addition to continuous, live-streaming patient monitoring, the Ocuvera system allows nurses to receive reminders to turn patients at customizable intervals, see how long they’ve been in a certain position, and see AI-powered estimates of the patient’s current position. They are also able to review video history of patient activity to verify patient positions. To learn more about Ocuvera’s pressure injury monitoring, contact us.
