Evaluating the effect of the new incentive system for high-risk pressure ulcer patients on wound healing and cost-effectiveness: A cohort study

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of new incentive system for pressure ulcer management, which focused on skilled nurse staffing in terms of rate of healing and medical costs. Design, setting and participants: A prospective cohort study included two types of groups: 39 institutions, which introduced the new incentive system, and 20 non-introduced groups (control). Sixty-seven patients suffering from severe pressure ulcers in the introduced group and 38 patients in the non-introduced group were included. Wound healing and medical costs were monitored weekly for three weeks by their skilled nurses in charge. Main outcome measures: Healing status and related medical costs. Results: The introduced group showed significantly higher rate of healing compared with the control group at each weekly assessment. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the introduction of the new incentive system was independently associated with the faster healing rate (β = 3.44, P < .001). The budget impact analysis demonstrated that introducing this system could reduce cost of treating severe pressure ulcers by 1.776 billion yen per year. Conclusions: The new incentive system for the management of pressure ulcers, which focused on staffing with skilled nurses can improve healing rate with reduced medical cost.