SafeFall

Each year, millions of older people—those 65 and older—fall. In fact, more than one out of four older people falls each year, but less than half tell their doctor. Falling once doubles your chances of falling again. Most falls are caused by a combination of risk factors. The more risk factors a person has, the greater their chances of falling. Healthcare providers can help cut down a person's risk by reducing fall risk factors.

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Our study provides estimates of the rates of falls and injurious falls in medical, surgical, and medical-surgical nursing units in United States hospitals during the 27 months preceding the CMS change in reimbursement for healthcare expenditures related to falls. Future research to determine whether the CMS reimbursement change was successful in reducing fall injuries among hospitalized patients should account for the decreasing trend in hospital falls preceding the legislative intervention.

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Each year, somewhere between 700,000 and 1,000,000 people in the United States fall in the hospital. 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. Fall prevention involves managing a patient's underlying fall risk factors and optimizing the hospital's physical design and environment.

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Hospitals are frustrated with a nationwide nursing shortage that's only gotten worse since the pandemic. In 2022, the American Hospital Association quoted an estimate that half a million nurses would leave the field by the end of that year, bringing the total shortage to 1.1 million.

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