jmalouf

I believe you are correct. I read the intent for M1910 closer and it specifies that we must use a "tool that has been validated as effective in identitying falls risk in community-dwelling elders...". The FRAT has been validated for general use, so does that include community-dwelling elders? I guess we are still looking for the magic bullet--one fall risk assessment tool that is both validated and multifactorial. I've heard there is a push to get the Missouri Alliance for Home Care validated.....

we have been looking into this as well. according to [color=#606420]http://www.health.vic.gov.au/agedcare/maintaining/falls/downloads/ph_frat.pdf the frat (falls risk assessment tool) is considered a validated tool produced by the national ageing research institute (funded by the department of health and human services) and is recommended for general use. this seems to fit the criteria described in the intent of m1910. the tool itself is very comparable to the missouri alliance for home care tool, but is slightly more comprehensive and provides a more detailed standard response scale. any thoughts?

I'm new to this forum, but I've enjoyed reading the posts. Our home health agency has been doing sterile PICC dressing changes using tegaderm and a biopatch every 7 days. However, the recent National Home Health conference in Los Angeles said "best practice" is to use a biopatch only for the first 7 days after insertion. Long term PICC care should involve sterile chloraprep/tegaderm dressing changes with no biopatch. Not using a biopatch allows for better insertion site visualization. So, we are considering a change in our policy to reflect "best practice", but I'm struggling to find real research to back it up. Any help?