Pressure ulcers were present during 503,300 hospital stays in 2006, reported the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in December 2008. This represents a 78.9% increase over the 281,300 hospital stays linked to pressure ulcers in 1993.

Patients who understand their discharge instructions are 30% less likely to be readmitted to the hospital or to visit the ED than are patients who don't know this information. And their costs are about $412 lower, too.