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Hospital fall prevention programs ineffective, review says
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted July 18, 2011
Strategies commonly used to stop patient falls in the hospital are not working, said a comprehensive review of medical literature published in the July Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (link).
Fall-prevention programs that educate patients, assess their vision and provide walking aids, for example, do not reduce falls during a typical hospital stay, according to one study examined as part of the review. Such programs are more effective over the course of 20 or 30 days in long-term care, the evidence showed.
Federal law requires hospitals to implement fall-prevention programs, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services can deny payment to hospitals for providing follow-up care for a patient seriously injured in a hospital fall. Such policies are not justified, said Terry A. Clyburn, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and professor at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, who co-wrote the literature review.
"Hospitals should educate patients and the families, use bedrails, keep beds low, keep floors dry and clear of clutter -- all the common sense things that can reduce the risk of falls," Dr. Clyburn said. "But we found no proof that falls in hospitals are, in fact, preventable. And if not, they should not be categorized as a preventable occurrence, and the burden shouldn't be borne by hospitals."
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/07/18/prbf0718.htm.
