Pilot study of WoundView telehealth program for chronic wounds in residential aged care

The intervention, the WoundView plugin, is a novel wound analysis tool integrated with an existing video telehealth platform (Coviu). WoundView links residents who have chronic wounds, and their clinical care staff in Residential Aged Care Homes (RACHs) to external healthcare providers such as wound care specialists, wound nurses, and GPs. External healthcare providers will deliver expert wound care to residents with chronic wounds using the WoundView plugin. The WoundView plugin is a software component that extends the functionality of the existing Coviu telehealth platform. All consultations will take place via telehealth with the resident and their clinical care team in the RACH. WoundView will be used for chronic wound management as often as is required based on the clinical needs of each participant. The participating RACHs are in rural and urban New South Wales, Australia. During the study, resident participants with chronic wounds will be referred to an external healthcare provider who will deliver virtual wound care using the WoundView plugin. Consumer-grade devices such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets will be used by the RACH and external healthcare provider to access WoundView. WoundView will be used in the initial wound assessment lasting approximately 30-45 minutes. During the assessment, wound images will be captured, and all call data (images and documents) will be transmitted peer-to-peer (i.e., between consultation participants) and protected with end-to-end encryption. Ongoing wound consultations and assessments will be undertaken using the WoundView plugin for the duration of the study (approximately three months). WoundView will be used to capture wound images at each wound dressing change (range 3-14 days). A report on WoundView usage will be run weekly by the research team for the duration of the study.