On September 1, 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the latest data on falls and older adults. Among adults 65 years and older in the United States, the leading cause of injury and injury deaths is unintentional falls. Nationally, the medical costs attributed to nonfatal and fatal falls in this age group amounts to approximately $50 billion every year.
According to the report, in 2020, approximately one in four older adults reported at least one fall. Even in Illinois, the state with the lowest estimate of nonfatal falls, approximately one fifth of older adults reported falling. The 2020 estimate of nonfatal falls during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was similar to that during previous years. On average, 100 older adults died every day because of falls in 2021. The 2021 estimate of fatal falls was higher than those during the previous 20 years. Age-adjusted death rates have been increasing annually for at least 2 decades.
Although the estimated prevalence of nonfatal and fatal falls increases with age, falls are not an inevitable part of aging. Older adult falls can be prevented by addressing modifiable risk factors through effective preventive strategies.
The CDC’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries (STEADI) initiative (https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/about.html) recommends that healthcare providers screen older adults for risk of falling, assess those at risk to identify modifiable risk factors, and intervene with effective strategies (e.g., physical therapy, home modification, and medication management) to address each risk factor.
Access the new report here.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
F689 states that the resident environment must remain as free of accident hazards as possible, and each resident should receive adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents. The requirement includes identifying and evaluating hazards and risks, implementing interventions to reduce hazards and risks, monitoring for effectiveness, and modifying interventions when necessary. If a fall occurs, the resident must be assessed thoroughly, and the plan of care updated to reduce the likelihood of future falls. The physician should be noified promptly of all falls, and if a change in condition occurs, the physician must be notified immediately. Failure to prevent falls can be considered provision of substandard quality care, and may result in immediate jeopardy citations, fines, and lawsuits.
Discussion Points
- Review policies and procedures for resident safety, including fall prevention protocols, to ensure that they provide evidence-based interventions to reduce injuries and falls. Also review your policies and procedures for reporting and documenting incidents/accidents to ensure they include current requirements.
- Establish a stop, look, listen care plan for residents at risk of falls. This means that any staff person passing the room should look into the room, listen for problems as they pass, even if it is not someone on their assignment that day and the resident has not called for assistance. Train all appropriate staff on resident safety policies and procedures, documentation, and reporting requirements. Document that the trainings occurred, and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Conduct a falls risk analysis for each resident at the time of admission, quarterly with the care plan cycle, and as needed, and implement individualized interventions starting on the day of admission. Periodically audit care plans to ensure that they are appropriate and contain evidence-based interventions to keep residents free from injury, that interventions are revised as needed, and that staff are informed of changes. Audit your incident/accident reports to ensure that the responsible party and physician were notified of events appropriately, that all issues where reporting is required were managed timely with appropriate follow-up, and that documentation is complete.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
