Wound treatment a growing market locally
By Fred Hiers, Ocala Star-Banner, Fla. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
The trend is abundantly evident in
The latest manifestation is the newly constructed, 7,200-square-foot Ocala Infectious Disease and Wound Center, which opened last month in southwest
His
Mirza had been content for years to rent
"I think that wound care was very under-recognized until the 1980s and 1990s," Mirza said.
In most cases, wound problems were treated by general practitioners the best they could manage.
Being an infectious disease specialist also gives him additional insight into wound care because he's better able to identify the infections that cause the problems.
"That was when I thought it was time to stop renting space and build my own facility," he said. "And it's good to give back to the community ... but this is all I own and all that I have."
Problematic wounds because of chronic infection or poor blood flow is nothing new, Mirza said. "But back then we used to just amputate."
Now, facilities such as his use new techniques, such as stents, and new medicines.
And then there's hyperbaric chambers. The chambers surround patients with 100 percent oxygen. Under pressure -- three times that of gravity -- the oxygen can reach the patient's extremities. Confronted with the abundance of oxygen, the body builds new blood vessels by which it can heal itself.
Hyperbaric chambers have been known to help difficult problems such as delayed radiation injuries, soft tissue infections, thermal burns, skin grafts and flaps, crush injuries and diabetes-related wounds, according to
"Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is effective at healing wounds and, in turn, reducing your risk for amputation, particularly if you have diabetes," the site says.
Hyperbaric chambers are not cheap. Chambers like Mirza's cost between
The use of hyperbaric chambers is not new; doctors have been using them for a couple of decades. The difference today, said
Between 1,500 and 2,000 hospitals now own hyperbaric chambers -- a 40 percent increase since 2000, Peters said.
Meanwhile, wound centers have done a good job of advertising the chambers and their benefits.
Most wound centers with hyperbaric chambers are affiliated with hospitals, he said. That's because most insurance companies, as well as
During the next several years he expects the number of wound centers -- and hyperbaric chamber use -- to only increase. But he said there would be few operating independent of hospitals.
Mirza concedes he is reimbursed less than half of what hospitals get for hyperbaric chamber treatment. To make up the difference, Mirza relies on a loyal patient base. He said he spends extra time -- 20 to 25 minutes -- with patients, and they appreciate his attention.
"I've never done a five-minute visit in my life," he said.
His plan is to offer as many services in-house as possible. The facility already has its own infusion clinic, where patients are given antibiotics intravenously.
Offering the service at the clinic cuts patients' stays in the hospital -- and reduces their need to go to hospitals at all.
The facility also has a pharmacy and sterile room to make antibiotics to send home with patients. That saves patients a trip to an outside pharmacy.
"Patients ... are getting older and older. They can't always drive themselves. ... It's a very, very sick population," he said.
The wound center soon will have its own lab so that most of the blood testing can be done on site -- again, saving time and expense.
The facility now sees about 60 patients per day. Mirza thinks that will climb to about 80 when the facility is fully operational. He has nine employees now and will add two more soon.
Last week,
She had first gone to Mirza for treatment of Lyme disease. She could have gone elsewhere for treatment for her nonhealing wound, but she is a loyal Mirza patient.
"Because I really, really like him. He's a fabulous doctor. I've never met anyone like him," she said.
Mirza spends time and cares about his patients, she said, and doesn't rush them out the door.
Mirza has joined a robust, well-established trade in wound care in
Dr.
"Long gone are the days when patients were (automatically) sent to surgery," Soosaipillai said.
Now, many wound care services are available that were not decades ago, he said. And in all likelihood, the number of patients and wound centers will only increase.
That is because, with the advancement of diabetes treatments, diabetics are living longer. More and more end up with wound problems, he said.
In addition, wound doctors understand more about blood circulation, which leads to more effective treatment.
But he recommends wound care facilities be associated with local hospitals, which can provide patients extra care when needed.
Wound treatment and the use of hyperbaric chambers have been popular in
"There is an epidemic of diabetes. There is an epidemic of obesity," Ortega said, adding that both problems go hand-in-hand with wound problems.
Previously, many diabetics did not typically live long enough to get non-healing wounds, especially in their feet. But now they do, and hyperbaric technology has helped them when traditional wound treatment doesn't work.
Many wound centers are not physically attached to hospitals because of space limitations. But Ortega said a formal association is best, because that provides important access to additional care for the patients when needed.
Trained as a plastic surgeon, Ortega said that many years ago there would be little he could offer wound patients in trying to mask the damage a non-healing wound caused.
Despite the growing number of wound facilities and treatments, Soosaipillai said that many individuals go without treatment.
He said that about 8 million Americans have non-healing wounds bad enough to warrant treatment, but only about 7 percent receive treatment.
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