General education
Start by documenting what changed and who is already involved.
The limited routing information that helps a wound-care team review fit, urgency, setting, and next steps.
A useful wound-care conversation begins with the setting, the wound location, how long it has been present, what has changed, what treatment is already in place, and the best direct contact. That information helps a clinical team determine what should happen next without asking a patient or caregiver to become the coordinator for every organization involved.
What to notice and communicate
- Changes in size, depth, drainage, odor, pain, tissue, or surrounding skin
- New difficulty with mobility, pressure relief, dressing changes, supplies, or transportation
- Recent hospital, surgery, rehabilitation, or skilled-nursing transitions
- The clinicians, facility staff, home-health nurses, or caregivers already involved
- Any urgent change that requires immediate evaluation by the responsible clinician or emergency services
Keep the referral focused
Public forms should contain only limited routing information. Records, wound photos, medication lists, and other protected health information should move through a secure channel provided by the receiving clinical team.
When the situation is urgent
This guide is not diagnosis or emergency advice. Call 911 for life-threatening symptoms. Contact the responsible clinician promptly when there is concern for infection, ischemia, rapidly worsening tissue, uncontrolled bleeding, severe pain, confusion, fever with systemic illness, or another urgent change.