By Joseph Ebberwein, Co-Founder/CFO of Corstrata
As the healthcare industry continues to refine its approach in post-acute, the questions for “Build vs Buy” for access to experts for Wound and Ostomy patients continue to surface. As mentioned in Build vs Buy: What is the real question?, there is a basic supply and demand challenge with nearly ten thousand or more jobs open in this country for these incredible nurses.
The story has been the same for nearly a decade! Fifteen thousand board-certified wound nurses in the U.S. to serve seven million chronic wound patients and six thousand board-certified ostomy nurses to serve another million people living with an ostomy, and ninety percent concentration of these specialists in the acute care setting. Corstrata entered the game a few years ago, and now offers a cost-effective “Wound Expertise on Demand” model for Providers.
Realistically evaluate these skills within your organization, and don’t place yourself behind the curve.
#1 Knowledge of building a Telehealth Program. Building a Telehealth program is not for the faint of heart. There are a lot of questions that must be answered. The framework of a Telehealth Program requires strong guard rails, and the rules are not ubiquitous. Depending upon the State of Residence for the patient, the rules can be very different, and Leadership must put into place the technology, processes, and procedures that develop conformity among all staff members as well as corporate compliance for all stakeholders.
#2 Efficient staffing. It sounds so easy, right? Well, if we have one WOC Nurse traveling between homes, we will put her or him on technology in order to be 2 or 3 times more efficient. And, although the efficiency for the one nurse improves dramatically, the flood gates open in the review of patient needs and the total quality of your program.
Corstrata provides access to board-certified WOCNs at a fraction of the current cost of recruitment and retention, not to mention the ability to maintain productivity for these precious resources. We fit into your model and your needs - we can provide you with “Wound Expertise on Demand” with wound and ostomy consults tailored to your specific volume.
Corstrata handles the recruitment, hiring, retention, training, licensure, and other processes. Corstrata has a pool of nurses licensed across the U.S. who are ready to be deployed.
Corstrata’s corporate structure allows for nurses to comply with regulatory requirements within the Corporate Practice of Nursing as mandated by each state.
Corstrata insures the appropriate processes and procedures for Telehealth consults.
Corstrata brings the technology platform to make access to wound and ostomy board-certified nurses easy and seamless.
#3 Breaking Bad in the ‘feet on the street’ Program. This is a two part discussion, and each Breaking Bad part is important to creating an effective Wound and Ostomy Program. Leadership must possess a strong understanding of the underlying, systemic nature of an ineffective program.
First, everyone would love to have enough resources to put a highly specialized, WOC nurse in every home, but nobody has those resources, not even well funded Hospital at Home programs. Even if you are fortunate enough to have a WOC nurse in your community that serves your organization, the stories of pain points abound regarding access and scheduling in a timely manner.
The second part of Breaking Bad is the implementation of recommendations. The fact is having a wound patient consult completed after a plan of treatment has been written and submitted for Physician approval is a waste of time and money, because the teams that serve the patient have already received orders and gone into motion, often on a sub-optimal plan of care wasting precious time and resources.
The right answer? Assure timing of the specialized consultation and implementation of the orders with the Physician by using Corstrata to optimize your start of care with an evidence-based plan of care.
The list of critical duties and responsibilities of a WOC nurse touches every functional area of a provider’s organization: Clinical, Quality, Financial, Risk Management, Marketing, and Sales. Learn more! Contact Corstrata now to discuss how we can not only fill a void but strengthen your wound care program and allow you to market yourself with a “Wound Program of Excellence.”