A recent survey of wound care clinicians showed that selecting the most cost-effective wound dressing and managing exudate are the biggest issues they face when treating a wound. Sponsored by 3M Health Care, the survey was conducted by HMP Communications, the publisher of "WOUNDS, Ostomy Wound Management and ECPN." Results offer insight into the biggest issues faced by wound care providers today and how the overall job of wound care may be simplified for clinicians.

Choosing the appropriate wound care products from the many choices available is important to simplifying care. When considering product choice for optimal wound care, the survey showed:

-- nearly 70 percent of respondents feel that in terms of simplifying the job of wound care, it is extremely important to have compatible products available that work well together.

-- 34 percent of respondents reported they sometimes find it confusing to choose the right product for a patient.

-- nearly 94 percent consider effectiveness to be extremely important when choosing a product.

-- more than 90 percent of survey respondents felt it was extremely or somewhat important to trust in the company that makes a wound care product they use.

In addition, the survey showed that wound care providers view the availability of cutting edge products as important to simplifying the job of wound care. In fact, more than 97 percent feel it is important or extremely important that wound dressings incorporate the latest in wound care technologies and more than 90 percent feel that, generally speaking, it is important or extremely important that wound dressings are based on cutting-edge technology.

"The survey results reinforce that clinicians are looking for better wound care solutions that can make their jobs easier as they strive for optimal patient outcomes," said Kristen Comstock, marketing manager, 3M Health Care. "At 3M, we are dedicated to providing highly effective wound care solutions that are easy to use. We listen to our customers and leverage our research and development expertise to advance wound care technology and bring new solutions to market. In addition, we supplement our offerings with educational opportunities for clinicians to help them to stay abreast of the latest advances in wound care."

Survey findings show that successful wound care depends most importantly on clinically effective and cost-efficient, state-of-the-art, compatible products that enable clinicians to focus on successful patient outcomes. The Tegaderm line of products from 3M offers a variety of wound dressings that help to simplify the job of wound care. 3M Skin Health is dedicated to providing educational opportunities for wound care providers and developing simple, dependable and trusted products on which clinicians can rely. More information on the Tegaderm product family can be found at www.3m.com/tegaderm.

About 3M Skin Health

From easy-to-use, effective wound care dressings to innovative skin closure applications, 3M is a leader in providing solutions that are focused on simplifying and improving skin health. As part of 3M Health Care, 3M Skin Health offers an extensive line of products in the areas of skin and wound care, IV therapy, dressing and device secural, and skin closures. 3M Health Care, one of six major business segments at 3M, is a leading provider of solutions for medical, dental, pharmaceutical and health information systems markets. Key brands from 3M Skin Health include: Tegaderm, Coban, Cavilon and Steri-Strip.

3M, Tegaderm, Coban, Cavilon, and Steri-Strip are trademarks of 3M.

3M, St. PaulStephanie Sanderson, 651-733-8588orCohn & WolfeMelinda Burdette, 312-596-2909