Questions families should ask the care team about a wound.

Why it helps to prepare

The questions families should ask the care team are usually clear at 2 a.m. and gone by the time the clinician is in the room. A wound visit is often brief, and much of it is hands-on work.

Ten minutes of preparation changes that. You do not need medical vocabulary. You need a short written list and a plan for who will ask.

Collect questions from everyone first

Start with your loved one. Ask what they want to know and what worries them, and put their questions at the top. It is their body and their visit.

Then ask the other people who help: siblings, a spouse, a paid aide, a neighbor who checks in. Give them a deadline, such as the evening before the visit. One list from the whole family is easier on the clinician than separate calls from four relatives, and everyone hears the same answer.

If your family uses a shared log, add a page for questions. See keeping a shared family care log.

Sort questions by who can answer them

Much frustration comes from asking the right question of the wrong person. Sort your list into four groups.

• The treating clinician: the wound, the treatment plan, pain and what to expect.
• The primary care clinician: other health conditions, the full medication list, blood sugar, nutrition, mood and memory. Our page on primary care and wound care together explains how the two fit.
• Gateway: visit scheduling, records, orders, supplies and transportation arrangements.
• The health plan or the treating practice’s billing office: coverage, costs and authorizations. Our guide to insurance and cost questions for wound care lists what to ask.

If you are not sure where a question belongs, ask us.

Questions worth asking about the wound

Start with these, and cross out any you can already answer.

1. What type of wound is this, and what is slowing its healing?
2. What is the goal right now: healing, keeping it from getting worse, or comfort?
3. Is it better, worse or the same since the last visit? How can you tell?
4. What is the plan until the next visit, and who does each part?
5. What should we be doing at home, and what should we not do?
6. Which changes should we report, and to which phone number?
7. Are any tests, referrals or equipment being ordered? Who will arrange them?

If you want to follow the numbers, our page on wound assessment and measurement explains what clinicians record. If the wound has not improved over many weeks, the page on non-healing wounds describes what a clinician may look into.

Shorten the list and put it in order

A long list handed over at the end of a visit rarely gets full answers. Before the visit:

• Mark your top three and ask those first.
• Make each question specific. “Is she okay?” gets a vague answer. “Her heel looks darker than last week. Is that expected?” gets a real one.
• Add the facts the clinician will need: dates and what you saw. The guide on describing wound changes to your care team can help.
• Move anything urgent off the list. Fever, spreading redness, heavy drainage or new confusion calls for a phone call to the clinician today. Call 911 for heavy bleeding that will not stop, trouble breathing or chest pain.

During the call or visit

Say at the start that you have a few questions, and how many.

If two of you are there, choose one person to ask and one to write. A relative joining by phone can be the note taker.

Before the conversation ends, repeat the plan back in your own words: “So we keep the dressing as it is, the nurse comes Thursday, and we call if the drainage soaks through.”

Your loved one decides who takes part. If they would like time alone with the clinician, step out.

After the conversation

Before you hang up or the clinician leaves, check three things: what happens next, who is doing it, and when you should expect to hear. Write down the name of the person you spoke with.

Send a short summary to the rest of the family the same day. Move any unanswered questions to the top of the next list. Our caregiver checklist for wound care visits has a format for recording next steps.

To ask about arranging wound care in Greater St. Louis or the Metro East, call 314-325-0126 or request a callback. Our page for families and caregivers explains how to make the first call for someone else.

Common questions

Related pages

• Caregiver checklist for wound visits
• Describing a wound change
• For families & caregivers
• Primary care and wound care together
• Wound assessment and measurement
• Request care
• Helping a parent from far away
• Dementia and a wound: family guide