Help with research on patient fall reporting

[Thelmasmom]

Hi All -

I am honored to become a member of the group. I have an assignment that I am struggling with. I am researching Patient fall reporting. After hours of searching and not finding the information I need, I have come to the experts. Does anyone know where I can find information on when fall reporting came into existence? I also need to determine what circumstances may have brought this reporting about.

I know that as a hospital we report falls to Medicare, but are there others to whom we are legally obligated to report?

Your help is most appreciated. My searching has brought me a lot of good information, just not the details that I need.

Blessings to you all!

[Emilyinsc]

in the nursing home, if a fx is sustained that is automatically reportable to DHEC.

in the hospital, if a fx is sustained, the rest of their stay is probably covered, they don't have to pay, the hospital does.

i imagine this is the same for the nursing home.

[Thelmasmom]

Thanks Emilyinsc -

I was looking more for when fall reporting started, and if there was some major situation that brought it into existence.

I appreciate your answer, though!

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

From ANA's Online Journal of Issues in Nursing

Measuring Fall Program Outcomes - American Nurses Association

In 1995, the American Nurses Association (ANA) Board of Directors commissioned the development of nursing quality indicators that link nursing care and patient outcomes. Patient injury rate, noted to be most often caused by falls, was promoted as a nurse sensitive indicator, a measure of quality that links patient outcomes with availability and quality of professional nursing services (ANA, 1995). The ANA asserted nurses' responsibility to assess patients' risk for falls and injury, design and implement risk reduction care plans, and evaluate effectiveness of clinical fall prevention programs. ANA also recommended consistency of data reporting, measurement and analysis.

Because of these efforts, by the next decade, valid and reliable fall risk assessment tools and standardized post fall analysis and rates are available for use in nursing practice. Adoption of the ANA recommendations encourages organizations to analyze effectiveness of fall prevention programs that are unit-specific and population-based. The recommendations suggest that clinical, administrative and risk management staff conduct in depth data analysis and provide unit-specific feedback to staff regarding fall rates and fall related injury rates. Following these practices has resulted in the emergence of best practices for patient safety related to reduced falls and fall-related injuries, as showcased in this article’s exemplars. These exemplars describe actual fall programs across settings, along with strategies to showcase data at the unit level and compare fall program outcomes over time.

Fall and Injury Prevention - Patient Safety and Quality - NCBI

[Thelmasmom]

Thank you so very much. This is exactly the information for which I was looking. I appreciate your help. Blessings to you!

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Your welcome. Helps being on home care agency's Safety Committee for 10 years.

[NeuroICU_Sara]

Check out NDNQI too for information regarding patient falls, etc.