The Wound Institute® Introduces "Guide to Chronic Wound Care": A Web-Based Educational Course

FORT WORTH, Texas, June 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wound Institute today announced the launch of a new educational module "Guide to Chronic Wound Care," an accredited, online course designed to help primary care physicians, podiatrists, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals involved in treatment of patients with difficult to heal wounds.

Healing problems can occur with any kind of wound, particularly in individuals who are gravely injured or have other health problems. Certain wounds—diabetic, venous, arterial and pressure ulcers—are considered inherently difficult to heal or at risk of becoming chronic due to the underlying disease state interfering with the normal healing process. Wounds that become chronic, and the complications that may result, have a devastating effect on both patients and their caregivers, and can lead to dramatic increases in healthcare costs.

"Chronic wounds are a growing outcome of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity," commented Komel Grover, Senior Director, Medical Education and Scientific Communications at Healthpoint Biotherapeutics. "We are pleased to support this timely course as part of our ongoing commitment to multi-disciplinary education related to the management of chronic and non-healing wounds."

The educational course is approved for continuing education credits for physicians (CME), nurses (CNE), pharmacists (CPE) and podiatrists (CPME). Through grant support from Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, the module is made available at no cost to clinicians and can be accessed at www.TheWoundInstitute.com.

About Chronic Wounds

Chronic wounds––including diabetic, vascular, arterial and pressure ulcers––are a major health care burden, yet the key factors that cause wounds to fail to heal are not well understood. Millions of people currently suffer from these types of wounds, and many more are likely to be affected in the future as the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and their related complications (such as peripheral vascular disease) continues to rise dramatically.

Billions of dollars in direct costs are spent each year on the treatment of chronic wounds. Despite these efforts, many of these wounds fail to heal in a timely manner, increasing the risk of many undesirable consequences and complications such as local infection, bacteremia and sepsis, pain, osteomyelitis, dermatitis, possible malignancy, amputation and even death. The longer it takes for a wound to heal, the greater the likelihood of complications.

About The Wound Institute®

Since its inception in 2005, The Wound Institute® has become the industry leader for interactive wound care education provided at no cost to its membership of over 47,000 healthcare professionals, patients and caregivers.

For healthcare providers, The Wound Institute® features comprehensive, research-based courses that assist in bridging the gap between knowledge and practice. The Wound Institute® partners with well-regarded knowledge leaders as faculty advisors to deliver disease-based education and enhanced practical treatment information. The interactive and innovative educational offerings are designed to accommodate the preferences and workplace demands of healthcare professionals by allowing physicians and non-physician clinicians to complete courses at their own pace. The Wound Institute® also serves as a conduit for accredited education whereby users may choose to be directed to a third-party site, register for courses that carry the CE/CME/CPE designation and, upon successful completion, receive the appropriate accreditation hours for their course work.

For patients and their caregivers, The Wound Institute® provides an online resource offering disease state education to empower them in managing difficult-to-heal and chronic wounds. These educational modules, developed in conjunction with the Patient Education Institute, are also featured on the patient advocacy site of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC; http://aawconline.org/patientcaregiver-resources/wound-care-links/) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) online resource for consumer education called MedlinePlus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/wounds.html). All modules have been written to meet Health Care Literacy Standards and are available in either English or Spanish language versions.

Made possible by the support of Healthpoint Biotherapeutics, The Wound Institute® is in its eighth year as a provider of objective, educational modules and continuing education for the wound care medical community—and, most recently, for patients and their caregivers, as well. To access any of the modules, register at www.TheWoundInstitute.com.

About Healthpoint Biotherapeutics

Healthpoint Biotherapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, cost-effective solutions for dermal repair and regeneration. The company's research and development strategy is centered on next-generation bioactive therapies for the treatment of chronic wounds. Currently marketed products include Collagenase SANTYL® Ointment, OASIS® Wound Matrix, OASIS® Ultra Tri-Layer Matrix and REGRANEX® (becaplermin) Gel 0.01%. Healthpoint Biotherapeutics is also committed to advancing the care and treatment of wounds through support of industry leading continuing education from The Wound Institute®. To learn more about this comprehensive and award winning educational resource, please visit TheWoundInstitute.com®. Healthpoint Biotherapeutics is a DFB Pharmaceuticals, Inc., affiliate company, and is based in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information, visit the company website at www.Healthpointbio.com.

HEALTHPOINT and related logo, SANTYL, THE WOUND INSTITUTE, THEWOUNDINSTITUTE.COM and REGRANEX are registered trademarks of Healthpoint, Ltd.

OASIS is a registered trademark of Cook Biotech, Inc.

SOURCE Healthpoint Biotherapeutics