Falls Risk Assessment and Prevention for Home Health and Hospice

OVERVIEW

This module addresses assessment of patient fall risk and development of a comprehensive falls prevention plan for home health and hospice patients. Prevention of falls has always been an important patient safety issue. It has become more urgent as agencies are begin reporting a "Major Falls with Injury" measure in 2017, and are held accountable under value-based payments.  

Why is falls prevention important?

• The risk of serious injury from falls increases with age.
• By 2020 the annual direct and indirect cost of fall injuries is expected to reach over $54.9 billion.
• Hospice patients are particularly at risk for falls due to their overall frail physical condition and declining functional status.
• Falls have serious negative consequences for quality of life for patients and add to the burden of suffering for patients and caregivers.
• Patient falls are the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma for seniors. According to OASIS data, in 2012, 1.4 percent of home health patients were hospitalized due to an injury caused by a fall.

CMS has signaled a strong intention to hold home health agencies accountable for preventing patient falls. Home Health Compare includes one measure of falls risk assessment.  More importantly, the IMPACT Act requires home health agencies to be evaluated on their rate of major falls with injury, a measure CMS will be testing for public reporting over the coming years. 

Hospice patients are also at risk for falls due to their overall frail physical condition and declining functional status. Falls lead to significant negative consequences for quality of life for hospice patients, adding to the burden of suffering for both patients and caregivers. Falls are the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for seniors and the risk for serious injury from falls increases with age.  Prevention of falls and falls injury is an important focus for hospice care and home care patients, especially in patients who are still able to ambulate.

How to use these resources:

Start with our two powerpoint presentations, which offer an overview of resources available through the Falls Prevention best practice topic area. These can be used for staff training or to gain familiarity with the area.  We also encourage agencies to visit the Resources page to identify the many expert resources such as the CDC Compendium of Effective Fall Interventions: What Works for Community-Dwelling Older Adults, 3rd Edition and the National Council on Aging – Falls Prevention Resources

VNAA Training Powerpoint: Guide to Falls Prevention for Hospice Patients

VNAA Training Powerpoint: Falls Risk Assessment

Explore additional resources, critical interventions and measurement and evaluation tools by clicking on the boxes above.