Reducing the risks of wound consultation: adding digital images to verbal reports.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of digital images on the assessment and recommendations of a WOC nurse who was providing remote nurse-to-nurse consultations on home care patients with wounds.

Methods: In a descriptive comparative study, data were collected by home care nurses from a sample of 43 adult patients with a total of 89 wounds with various etiologies. To determine whether or not the addition of a digital photograph influenced the WOC nurse's assessment and recommendations, the WOC nurse first completed a wound assessment and recommendation form based on a verbal report from the home care nurse.

The use of digital images in evaluating homecare nurses' knowledge of wound assessment.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate homecare nurses' knowledge of wound assessment using digital images and case studies.

Design: A descriptive design was used.

Subjects And Setting: Subjects were a convenience sample of 33 registered nurses from a Washington, DC, metropolitan-based home health agency.