Falls are costly to both the patient and the healthcare system. What complicates things even more is that they effect a number of different cost points including direct costs, soft costs, liabilities, penalties, and more. So what does the "actual" figure "look like" for a fall and a fall related injury in a hospital or health system and more importantly, how can we address this concern head on with significant results!
According to a source, each year approximately 700,000-1,000,000 patients fall in the hospital. Of those, 30-35% sustain an injury that requires treatment, which adds an average of approximately 6 days to the length of stay. Real dollars then creates a cost of over $14,000.00 per patient who sustains and injury following a fall, costing the US healthcare system over $34B annually.
At Safe Balance, we understand the negative impact surrounding falls and have made it our mission to tackle this epidemic head on! With the utilization of our software platform, physicians, nurses, therapists and other care providers can directly identify where risks are, how severe they are, and ultimately mitigate those risks before a fall occurs. Additionally, the Safe Balance software also assists the physician and team in discharge planning to not only keep the patient safe in the facility, but put continued measures in place when they return home, thus preventing readmissions.
Additionally, with the comprehensive data analytics platform of Safe Balance, your clinical analyst team will be able to identify meaningful trends, outliers and other important information to proactively educate, engage and allocate resources proactively to address needs unique to the facility and community.
In short, by incorporating Safe Balance, there isn't a scenario where your clinicians and administration won't be better equipped and more well-informed to tackle falls head on, leading to fewer occurrences, readmissions and reducing costs at great length, while providing a higher threshold of patient care.
Find out more on how to bring Safe Balance to your system through a cost-free trial on one or two of your units/floors!
