Decreasing Patient Falls by Including Medication Induced Factors in Fall Assessment

Abstract

Inpatient falls are the primary cause of injuries in health care facilities. The intended project goal was to reduce inpatient falls in the cardiac stepdown unit (CSU). Adding the Medication Fall Risk Score to the current fall risk assessment resulted in fewer falls. The CSU had the highest fall rate and the highest increase in patient falls. Patients in the CSU are often older. Medications used to treat this patient population are betablockers and antihypertensive meds. These medications are in the class of falls risk inducing drugs (FRIDs), which increases the possibility of falls in this population.