Articles · Wound care

A wound that will not heal is a medical problem — and it comes with house calls.

Diabetic ulcers, surgical wounds, pressure injuries: slow-healing wounds need skilled, consistent treatment. Under the White Card, OWCP, and Medicare, that treatment comes to your home.

What home wound care includes.

  • Assessment and measurement at every visit — documented, so healing (or trouble) is visible early.
  • Dressing changes with the right products, on the right schedule.
  • Infection monitoring and immediate escalation to your physician when something changes.
  • Teaching — so you and your family know what to watch between visits.

Under the White Card, a wound connected to an accepted condition — or caused by one, as a consequential condition — is treated at no cost to you, with supplies covered.

Why documentation is part of the treatment.

Wound measurements are evidence twice over: they guide the clinical plan, and they are exactly the recorded data that supports your authorization and hours when the DOL reviews your care. Visit-by-visit records mean your Letter of Medical Necessity shows the wound’s reality, not a recollection of it.

Common questions.

My wound is from surgery for my accepted cancer. Covered?

A wound that follows from an accepted condition or its treatment can be covered — raised as consequential if it is not already on your card.

How often will a nurse come?

As often as your physician orders and the authorization supports — the plan of care sets the schedule, and it can change as the wound does.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, DEEOIC.

Dealing with a wound right now?

Ask your physician to send the order, or send us the referral — wound care is exactly what skilled home health is for.

Alara helps you understand and reach benefits you may already be entitled to. It does not replace the Department of Labor, your Resource Center, your physician, or any federal agency. Nothing here is legal advice or a coverage or eligibility determination.