Metrics of the Patient Fall justifying the Need for Improvement
The incidence of patient falls in the geriatric unit has been increasing significantly.Consequently, patient falls are among the leading forms of in-hospital accidents. Approximately 70% of inpatient accidents are associated with hospital falls(Anderson et al., 2015).These falls result in severe physical and emotional injuries. Others lead to an increased length of hospitalstay, raising the health care cost. Extra hospital charges of over $4200 were incurred by patients who sustainedinjuries after falling (Anderson et al., 2015).Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Essay. Additionally, some patients are supposed to be admitted to a long-term care facility to receive continuous care after being discharged from the hospital. Research also shows that about 30% of hospital patient falls lead to physical injury where between 4% and 6% of these falls exposes patients to severe injuries, including subdural hematomas, fractures, and excessive bleeding(Anderson et al., 2015).Patient fall sometimes makes one fear of falling in the future. In turn, the fear of lowers mobility leading to muscle weakness, postural hypotension, contracture,and thrombogenicevents, thus lowering one’s quality of life.Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Essay.
Therefore, the high incidence of falls and associated health complications necessitate introducing measures of reducing falls in hospitals. Implementing quality improvement initiatives will prevent falls, thus boosting the quality of care and patient safety.
Proposed Quality Improvement Initiative to Prevent Patient Fall in the Future
The high rate of patient falls can be prevented by implementing a quality improvement initiative in the geriatric unit. Specifically, Mrs. A fell due to the lack of fall prevention interventions in the geriatric unit. Therefore, the event can be prevented from happening by introducing some quality improvement initiatives such as information technology interventions in the geriatric department. In particular, the use of wearable sensors will preventthe patient from falling through multiple strategies. According to Khalifa (2019), wearable sensors are highly reliable in monitoring and analyzing patients’ stability. Most healthcare providers use accelerometers and gyroscopes to detect stability and balance issues among geriatric patients. They place those sensors on the trunk to assess both the dynamic and static stability of a patient. Additionally, information technology analyzes the details of the falls and factors that exposed the patients to falls. Applications of technological devices also send data and alert care providers about the incidents of falls instantaneously. Therefore, implementing wearable sensors in the geriatric unit can reduce falls and increase patient safety.Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Essay.
In conclusion, patient falls are one of the most common adverse events in healthcare facilities. The risk of falls is relatively high among elderly patients who are hospitalized in the geriatric unit. The adverse event discussed in this paper involved a 77-year-old African American female. The patient was hospitalized in the geriatric care unit following repeated falls at home. She was diagnosed with diabetes and dementia. Unfortunately, the client became disorientated and fell as she tried to move out of bed to visit the washrooms. She sustained a fracture in her right leg, which necessitated the performance of a surgical procedure. Consequently, she stayed in the hospital for a relatively more extended period, which raised her medical bills. This incident was due to a missed protocol in the delivery of care. In particular, healthcare providers failed to implement quality improvement initiatives to enhance patient safety in the geriatric unit. Such events can be prevented from happening by introducing some quality improvement initiatives such as information technology interventions in the geriatric department. In particular, the use of wearable sensors will prevent the patient from falling. This technology will enable healthcare providers to monitorand analyze patients’ stability, thus implementing fall prevention strategies if the fall risk is relatively high. The event implied various stakeholders, including the multidisciplinary team, the community, and the patients and their family members.Quality Improvement Initiative Evaluation Essay.
Order this paper