Pure Wick

smescarcega

What has been your experience using a pure wick catheter at home? Did you end up paying for this out of pocket?

sandwichone123

Welcome here! I'm sorry you have not gotten a lot of replies, but I did want to step up and encourage you to read the boards, even if you're not getting an answer to your specific question.

I don't have any answers, and I don't remember seeing anyone else on the board talking about this, but you could try doing a search to see if anyone has used one.

harshedbuzz

I seem to recall a discussion of Pure Wick on the Spouses board but it was in the context of a member using it after their own surgery.

abc123

My mother used a regular catheter, it was covered by hospice. I wish I had known about pure wick sooner. Good luck.

mommyandme (m&m)

I’m going to ask our hospice nurse about this. Interesting!

She said this:

 “I don’t much care for them.  The last time I spoke with one of our docs, the recommendation is to change the Purewick every few hours, and we cannot provide coverage for those kind of supplies unfortunately.  I also don’t much care for them because the time that it is in use, it’s wet and against the genitalia and can rub and cause irritation and skin breakdown very potentially more than a catheter.  It is more work for sure.”

Hmmmm?

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Jo C.

Personal experience from two RNs who personally had used Pure Wicks as patients:

First RN:  I was in the hospital and on bedrest for eight days.   I was at first stunned to have a PureWick system provided and was scared silly to use it the first time for fear  I would wet the bed . . BUT . . .

It was wonderful!   Absolutely not wet next to my body at all and no leakage at all.  Worked amazingly well.  AND no catheter needed means avoiding infections and no struggling with a bedpan.  It was actually comfortable and I did not even sense it was there.

Hospitals using the PureWick system rather than indwelling catheters have had their UTI rates go substantially down. The PureWick does not need to be changed every few hours. The Wick part next to the body is recommended to be changed each twelve hours and it is fast and easily done.  The part next to the body is simply slid off the tube and another slipped on.  Takes no time at all.

Second RN:  A good friend who is also a highly experienced RN had to be on bedrest for a few days after a surgery.  She was, as I was, a bit nervous about using the device at first. But like me, was SO pleased with it.  She even called me to ask if I had ever seen the PureWick in use, and I shared with her I had it used for myself.  She was thrilled with the comfort and ease of use and avoiding having to have a catheter or to have to call and roll on a bedpan each time she needed to void which would have guaranteed a wet person for sure.

Really a sad state of affairs that Medicare will not permit reimbursement. I will have to check and see if that includes hospital's too.  It can really help to prevent infections and would be cost effective in the long haul for Medicare in that there will be no need for treatment of complex UTIs and urosepsis with even subsequent hospitalizations, etc. from the use of indwelling catheters.

J.

Jo C.

Spoke to a very large major med center and they are using PureWick exclusively for their female patients and are getting positive feedback from the patients and UTIs are certainly less.  To do this, that probably indicates Medicare is covering the devices in the acute hospitals. Will check with another med center or two tomorrow. UCLA was using the PureWick for their patients, so will also reach out to them.

J.

Jo C.

Every single med center I contacted, four of  them, plus UCLA Med Center all use PureWick. Patients on Medicare are not and cannot be billed for this.   Since the hospital is paid for by a DRG  (diagnosis related group) system, they are paid one flat fee for the coded patient diagnosis for all care and care needs. If the cost of care is low, the hospital keeps the extra.

If the cost of care is high and exceeds the DRG payment, then the hospital is out of pocket. This is why patients are sent home sicker and quicker.  The hospitals have to keep their costs as low as possible in order to survive.  They must by law keep their infection rates low or they are penalized and they must also keep their readmission rates low or they are penalized big time.  Here comes PureWick which substantially cuts infections from having to use foley catheters.  Infection rate low, and readmission from urosepsis, etc. also low.

Anyway, it appears that med centers are using the PureWick in place of foley catheters as much as possible. Over and over I heard how much it prevents UTIs and how big a plus it is with patient satisfaction; and for those  patients who were being diapered, they no longer experience wet diapers.  Patients do not get charged for this in acute  hospitals as it is not billed to patients as it is part of the DRG payment or other insurance coverage for most insurances.  Holding down the costs of UTIs is a big deal for insurances.

One thing that my be an issue would be if a dementia patient would not cooperate with the device. I can say, having experienced it myself, I did not feel its presence.  
 

 Here is a video of the doctor who brought this device into being after seeing a retired scientist trying to develop such a system for his wife who had one UTI after another until this came into being; the wife did not have a foley nor did he leave her lying in wet diapers; but she still developed recurrent UTIs until the invention:

 https://www.purewickathome.co.uk/about-us.html

Interesting and I bet they have made a monumental fortune.   Bard who initially owned it was bought out by BD who now "owns" the product. 

Why Medicare feels they must "study" the product for effectiveness and necessity I cannot figure out. Prevention of UTIs is a big time cost for them, AND if not foley catheter, then the person must experience wet, wet, wet diapers and bed over and over again.  I wonder if the Medicare hanging back is a manipulation of the company to lower their prices as we know this is a very expensive product.

I do wonder a bit though; if this was a male dominant product, would it gain approval faster and more easily? 

J.

mommyandme (m&m)

Great info Jo C. thanks.  

I do wonder about dementia patients tolerating it.  It would be a nice alternative for sure. 

smescarcega

I really appreciate all of this information. I am going to move forward with purchasing this out of pocket. It seems like my mom is getting significant urinary tract infections every month. We have the Foley catheter in because she has a bedsore that is trying to heal. She had a pure wick in the hospital so I know she is able to tolerate it. I also like the fact that if she tugs on it it will not cause internal injury and therefore another infection. I started to research if it was available for rental. I could not find any place that rented them.