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| Photo by cbgrfx123 |
I don’t know about you but sometimes I have a hard time conceptualizing large numbers. We’re always hearing statistics reported in the news… a few million here or a couple of billion there. I’m challenged just guessing how many jelly beans are in the jar.
If, like me, you can use a little help wrapping your mind around the difference between a million and a billion, here’s something that can help: a million seconds translates into about 11 days. A billion seconds translates into about 32 years. That’s a big difference when it comes to beans.
The reason I mention this is to set the stage for a staggering number. Woundcare costs the Canadian heathcare system about $3.9 billion annually! Sometimes referred to as the ‘silent epidemic’ (because wounds pose a serious threat to public health, yet receive little media attention) woundcare in Ontario alone places a $2 billion burden on the system.
Just within the diabetic population, over 2 million Ontarians are at a high risk of foot ulcers, leg ulcers and pressure ulcers, and 26% suffer from preventable wounds. Fifteen percent, or 150,000 diabetic Ontario patients will develop a preventable foot ulcer which can cost close to $8,000. If infected this number can rise to $17,000 annually.
Like many diseases and chronic conditions, woundcare treatment is complex and in many cases poorly understood. Wound care experts (like ET Nurses and a variety of physician specialists) are in short supply. This is where OTN can potentially help.
OTN already provides a successful store forward dermatology service (Otn.teledermSF) which has enabled almost 15,000 dermatology consults over the last two years. Using Otn.teledermSF, the primary care provider takes a digital photo of the patient’s skin lesion, sends it off to an Ontario-based dermatologist though our secure servers and in turn, the dermatologist answers back with a diagnosis and suggested treatment plan. The consultants generally answer in less than five days. It’s fast, it’s easy and it's free. We’ve applied the same thinking to wound care.
There are a couple of pilot groups using Otn.woundcare and are finding it very effective. Instead of the patient having to travel to see the woundcare specialist, or vice versa, photos of the wound are taken by a delegate and sent to the woundcare specialist through our software. Additionally, these photos can be taken at regular intervals and uploaded to the case so that the progression of the wound can be monitored over time.
Not only is there value in getting expert advice to care providers in a timely manner but the enhanced communication through this paradigm increases the capacity of the primary care provider(s).
We are interested in conducting additional pilots and we’d like to hear from you if want to see how Otn.woundcare can work for you. A critical piece to a pilot is that you’ll bring both sides of the care equation to the party. That is to say, you’ve got patients and providers on one side and also have access to a wound care specialist who is interested in trying Otn.woundcare. Once you have the interested parties, OTN can enable the rest.
Ultimately, OTN plans to offer this as a regular service to the entire Province. Maybe by getting patients faster access to woundcare specialists and earlier intervention for their woundcare issues, we can put a dent in the cost of woundcare in Ontario.
Oh, by the way, you can get about 1,080 jelly beans in a 4.5 litre (one gallon) jar.
Cheers!
Stewart
