 LONDON, April 30, 2021 PRNewswire -- SmithNephew NYSE:SNN; LSE:SN, the global medical technology business, announces the publication of new research showing that clinicians estimated that 45 of their patients with chronic wounds would benefit from greater involvement in their care, and half of these clinicians believed this would enable them to spend more time with other patients.1 The results of the research, published in Wounds International, concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic had been instrumental in providing a real-world opportunity for clinicians to better understand the benefits of greater patient shared care. Clinicians reported a decline in home visits and an increase in remote care via digital communication tools such as video calls, text and email.1 They also claimed to have used alternative dressings or therapies that reduced the frequency of dressing changes.1 Some expressed a concern that when patients are involved in their care they dont change the wound dressing at the right frequency.2 Advanced features such as absorbency and exudate management, present in SmithNephews ALLEVYN LIFE Dressings, were rated as most important when choosing a foam.2 Practitioner attitudes towards encouraging shared care varied globally; in China, the UK and the USA, shared care is a more established approach than in France and Germany, where care is predominately nurse-led. 