Bruin Biometrics LLC announces repeated formal recognition of the role of sub-epidermal moisture (SEM) in identification of the increased risk of pressure injuries* and of the Provizio SEM Scanner in the detection, and treatment of SEM for the prevention of broken skin pressure injuries.
Martin Burns, CEO of Bruin Biometrics, brings good news: “Leading national and expert guidelines now recognize SEM assessment for pressure injury prevention due to the latest data on the ongoing challenges of pressure injuries and the importance of their prevention”.
2023 was a year of groundbreaking clinical and health economic advancements with the Provizio SEM Scanner, the name of which was selected to suggest and highlight the ‘foresight’ this technology provides. The company and its collaborating practitioners and exclusive global distributor, Arjo, continue to modernise the landscape of pressure injury prevention in the UK and US, with far-reaching positive effects for patients, globally.
Bruin Biometrics is pleased to share that the UK’s Department of Health and Social and Social Care’ Drug Tariff now provides payment for Scanner sensors at the point of care for all UK’s at-home patients, the Provizio SEM Scanner Sensor is the first “pressure injury prevention sensor” to be added to the Drug Tariff.
For years, healthcare practitioners and policymakers have been frustrated from increased pressure injury incidence and associated resource burdens and treatment costs. From Bruin Biometrics’ point of the view the current status quo around pressure injuries is simply inadequate resulting in too much avoidable patient suffering.
Achievements in the Unites States include:
FDA, CMS, and device users now acknowledge the importance of that clinical foresight, which is acutely true for dark-skin-toned patients. Health economic modelling underscores its cost-effectiveness whilst freeing up healthcare practitioner time.
- The FDA has acknowledged that sub-epidermal moisture is the equivalent of persistent focal edema and localized edema: additionally that sub-epidermal moisture is measured and monitored by the Provizio SEM Scanner, accepting an expanded labelling (K231830, September 2023).
- The US Centres for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has approved the ICD-10 PCS procedure code, XX2KXP9, for the SEM scanning procedure, effective April 1, 2024, recognising the utility of the technology in measuring and monitoring SEM which, when treated, significantly aids in preventing pressure injuries and deep tissue injuries. This new code will play a significant role in promoting standardization of the procedure, especially for present on admission testing which is a major quality risk area for providers with consequential Medicare penalties for missed diagnoses.
These developments have broad implications for clinical practice. In the US, the 1% Medicare penalty for hospital-acquired pressure injuries again applies to clinical practice for the fiscal year from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Because of these Provizio SEM Scanner related milestones, healthcare providers and practitioners have coded procedures and a powerful tool for identifying and documenting pressure damage on admission, and deep tissue injuries; and in particular for dark-skin toned patients.
Burns concluded, “These approvals and authorizations are proverbial breaths of fresh air in a clinical area historically frustrated by detection, treatment and prevention methods not grounded in contemporary etiology and pathophysiology. We have moved beyond the era of pressure injury risk-tools and visual and tactile skin assessments alone, and into an era where objective, microscopic measures guide practitioners’ understanding of their patients’ skin health. Practitioners have used these SEM data to guide treatments resulting in remarkable pressure injury incidence rate reductions that everyone has wanted to achieve over the years.”
