The UEMS Multidisciplinary Joint Committee - Wound Healing


The MJC Wound Healing (MJC-WH) was founded October 20th 2018 in Brussels representing an interdisciplinary body of the UEMS with 20 delegates from 9 different medical specialties. The major task of the MJC-WH is the harmonization and synchronization of the medical field of wound healing in all EU countries. 

 

Background

The importance of wound healing in Europe 

Wound healing and wound care are essential parts of medicine. It mainly deals, next to acute, with chronic wounds, defined as wounds which do not heal for 6-8 weeks. The medical field of wound healing is a multi-disciplinary medical competence jointly performed in an interprofessional way, i.e. with a very strong impact of nurses. Austria alone holds 250,000 wound patients, which leads to an estimate of 15 million wound patients in the EU. In Austria, just the costs for the dressing changes per year account for € 225,4 million. The major problem in the medical field of wound healing is the fact, that only 30 to 40% of the patients receive an adequate modern wound therapy. 

Problems related to the medical field of wound healing in Europe

In 81% of all EU countries no specific wound healing curriculum is implemented in the general curricula of those specialties, which often deal with wounds. In 83% of the countries there is not even a special physicians-related national postgraduate program on wound healing and 46% of all EU countries do not hold interdisciplinary specialized wound centers. Moreover, the use of national guidelines is not the dominant treatment standard in the majority of EU countries. With regard to nurses, we have the problem that they usually have a specific education in wound healing with governmental accreditation. Such an education may also lead to a PhD or professor degree in various EU countries. In addition, in all northern EU countries and the UK wound nurses are allowed to diagnose, treat, prescribe and order wound healing devices, which makes it very difficult for medical doctors to contribute to wound care. Next to the examples of problems herein described, there are various other problems, which have to be addressed by the MJC-WH.


Become a Fellow of in Wound Healing!

Visit the website of the European Association for Fellows in Wound Healing

Objectives of the MJC-WH

  • Promote and harmonize the highest level of training of the medical specialists engaged in wound healing
  • Establish a UEMS European board of wound healing which prepares, launches and performs UEMS EBSQ examinations in wound healing 
  • Develop and launch of a postgraduate educational programme for wound healing, to safeguard the 
    professional interests of European medical specialists engaged in wound healing 
  • Create a working group for “Professional Policies” which will be responsilbe for defining the scope of work physicians and nurses in this field
  • Develop the tools needed for supporting the free movement of the related medical specialists within the EU
  • Promote and harmonize the medical practice and scientific issues in the field of wound healing
  • Found a working group for “Guidelines”, with the objective to promote, review and accredit EU guidelines for a pan-European standard of care.
  • Review an EACCME accreditation of European wound healing educational events (e.g. congresses)