| Abstract |
Each year, somewhere between 700,000 and 1,000,000 people in the United States fall in the hospital. A patient fall is defined as an unplanned descent to the floor with or without injury to the patient. A fall may result in fractures, lacerations, or internal bleeding, leading to increased health care utilization. Research shows that close to one-third of falls can be prevented. As of 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) does not reimburse hospitals for certain types of traumatic injuries that occur while a patient is in the hospitaliv; many of these injuries could occur after a fall. Staff in acute care hospitals have a complex and potentially conflicting set of goals when treating patients. Hospital personnel need to treat the problem that prompted the patients admission, keep the patient safe, and help the patient to maintain or recover physical and mental function. Thus, fall prevention must be balanced against other priorities. Fall prevention involves managing a patients underlying fall risk factors (e.g., problems with walking and transfers, medication side effects, confusion, frequent toileting needs) and optimizing the hospitals physical design and environment. A number of practices have been shown to reduce the occurrence of falls, but these practices are not used systematically in all hospitals. |
