PATIENT FALL RATE: 3.44 falls per 1,000 patient days (2011)

The National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) is a rich source of data from over 1,900 participating U.S. acute care hospitals.  This study reports data on patient falls occurring in 2011.  Here are some of the findings:

• 166,883 falls were reported by 1,464 general hospitals in 2011
• The overall fall rate was 3.44 falls per 1,000 patient days
• 5.5 percent of falls were repeat falls
• 12.4 percent of falls were assisted (a staff member was present to break the fall)
• 85.5 percent of falls were unassisted

Source: Staggs, V.S., Mion, L.C., and Shorr, R.I. (2014, Aug.). Assisted and unassisted falls: different events, different outcomes, different implications for quality of hospital care. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 40(8), 358-364, retrieved from https://www.readbyqxmd.com/read/25208441/assisted-and-unassisted-falls-different-events-different-outcomes-different-implications-for-quality-of-hospital-care 

Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EARLIER POST from this blog with similar data:

This research, based on the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, presents data on over 300,000 falls in hospitals during a two-year period just prior to implementation of the new rules from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services banning payment for costs associated with patient falls during hospitalization.  Comparative patient fall rates are given for medical versus surgical units, for hospitals of different sizes, magnet versus non-magnet, teaching versus non-teaching.  Here are some overall findings (quoted from the article abstract):

• 3.56 falls / 1000 patient days (overall)
• 0.93 injurious falls / 1000 patient days (overall)
• Injurious falls represent 26.1 percent of all falls

Why I like this article: Data based on large number of hospitals; authoritative researchers; topical data; numbers numbers numbers!

Source: Bouldin, E.L.D., and others.  Falls among adult patients hospitalized in the United States: prevalence and trends.  Journal of Patient Safety;9(1):13-17, Mar. 2013.  Click here for the publisher’s website:http://journals.lww.com/journalpatientsafety/Abstract/2013/03000/Falls_Among_Adult_Patients_Hospitalized_in_the.3.aspx  Posted by AHA Resource Center, (312) 422-2050, rc@aha.org