CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair (ACWHTR) and the Angiogenesis Foundation jointly released a first-of-its-kind white paper, "Patient-Centered Outcomes in Wound Care," that addresses the outcomes important to patients suffering from chronic and delayed healing wounds-a condition that costs the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $20 billion annually.The white paper is the result of a multi-stakeholder Expert Summit, convened by both organizations in Chicago, IL in July of 2012, that included patients, healthcare providers, researchers and leading experts in the field. Participants reviewed recent developments in wound healing and created a framework for patient-centered outcomes and advancing chronic wound treatment centered on patient needs.
"This white paper comes at a pivotal time when real innovations are taking place in wound care, and payers are asking for the evidence that they bring patients real benefit," commented Dr. William Ennis, President of the ACWHTR."Defining this benefit needs to include patient-centered concerns, not just what regulators and clinicians think is important."
Treatment of a chronic or delayed healing wound has evolved greatly over the past fifteen yearswith new techniques and a growing recognition of the need for a multidisciplinary, team-based approach. The wound care field, however, lacks substantial evidence demonstrating the benefits of different therapeutic options and fails to incorporate patient-centered interests.
"What has been missing is the voice of the patient," commented Dr. William Li, President and Medical Director of the Angiogenesis Foundation. "This white paper is the first to address this issue in wound care and it informs researchers and policymakers about the patient's perspective."
The white paper summarizes the desired state of the field and identifies barriers and actionable solutions to achieving this state. It can be downloaded at: http://www.angio.org/programs-cp-wound.php.
http://www.acwound.org/news/woundcarewhitepaper.pdf
The American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair (www.acwound.org) is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, IL., whose mission is to advance the field of wound healing through research, education, and advocacy, and by establishing wound care as a formal medical specialty.
The Angiogenesis Foundation (www.angio.org) is a nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, MA, dedicated to improving global health through interventions based on angiogenesis, the process of new blood vessel growth.
Contact:
The American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair
(312) 413-7756
contact@acwound.org
The Angiogenesis Foundation
(617) 401-2775
inquiries@angio.org
SOURCE American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair
