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16 KEY STEPS in Developing a Successful Fall-Prevention Program THE ROLE OF CULTURE AND DATA ANALYTICS IN FALL PREVENTION Even if you follow these steps, it's still often challenging to develop, implement, and sustain a successful fall-prevention program. Many successful programs have, as a precondition, a strong culture of transparency. Effective data analytics and sharing the resulting insights across the organization are also frequent indictors of successful fall-prevention programs. So, how does analytics support a culture of transparency, and vice versa? When the insights gained from analytics are effectively shared with front-line staff and providers, they are more likely to put those findings into practice. And when staff are putting data-driven findings to work, then analytics becomes relevant to how the organization's patient-safety programs are run. Analytics drives culture, and culture drives analytics, creating a self-reinforcing cycle. The good news is, there's a new generation of analytics tools, powered by artificial intelligence, that are transforming how organizations reduce harm to patients, including preventing falls. With predictive analytics, patient safety managers can uncover insights from vast amounts of fall event data in a way the human eye cannot. Fall- prevention programs can be improved by A.) combining standard, universal fall precautions; B.) tailoring fall-intervention practices to the patient and the organization; C.) sharing across the organization the findings from predictive analytics. u Once you understand some of the unique characteristics of your organization and how they contribute to the issue of falls, you'll be well-positioned to implement these standard fall-prevention interventions: 5. Conduct a walk through to evaluate the physical risks within your setting daily. Engage all levels of staff in creating a safe environment. 6. Ensure that staff apply universal fall precautions to every patient, regardless of fall risk. 7. Use standardized fall risk screening tools such as MORSE Fall Scale or STRATIFY. Regularly assess staff understanding of why they are assessing fall risk factors. This helps support shared knowledge. 8. Identify high risk populations upon admission, and don't rely on fall risk scores alone. 9. Involve patients and their families to better understand their motivations or any barriers that could prevent compliance. 10. Regularly assess the environment of care processes, such as hand-offs, and speak with staff about their concerns and gain feedback on innovative solutions. 11. Develop a fall competency training program for all staff. By assessing their level of understanding, you can target the gaps in their knowledge related to the fall-prevention program. 12. Review written fall-related protocols. Are there established guidelines regarding medical record documentation, and have they been shared with staff? 13. Train staff annually on high risk medications as they relate to increasing the risk of falling. This will ensure staff understands the effects and the impact of these medications. 14. Conduct rounding at regular intervals to proactively asses patient needs that put them at risk to fall. 15. Appoint a few staff to conduct safety huddles at the bedside after a fall to analyze how and why the fall occurred. Include a pharmacist and rehabilitation staff during the huddle. 16. Develop a standardized post-fall assessment for root cause analysis (RCA). This will assist in the process of conducting a RCA and allow the organization to learn the causes of the event so that you can prevent future falls. THERE ARE CERTAIN STANDARD FALL-PREVENTION PRACTICES THAT ARE APPLICABLE AT EVERY HEALTHCARE ORGANIZATION. THERE ARE, HOWEVER, UNIQUE FACTORS WITHIN EVERY ORGANIZATION THAT CONTRIBUTE TO (OR PREVENT) FALLS. It's a good idea to take a deeper look within your own organization first before developing and implementing a fall-prevention program. Take the following steps to assess your current culture and the unique impact falls are having at your organization. 1. Administer a survey about your organization's culture of safety. To overcome underreporting of falls you need to assess your staff's beliefs, values, and norms. 2. Conduct a resource-needs assessment after reviewing and applying analytics to your fall data. Using your data to determine the gaps in your processes can assist with determining the resources needed; recognizing the gaps between where the organization envisions itself in the future and the organization's current state. 3. Analyze the cost of fall events occurring in your organization. Nothing helps get the right amount of resources needed like understanding the cost to the organization. 4. Pinpoint events indicating workflow issues, specifically where staff have not been able to get to the patient in a timely manner. This issue can be recognized through analysis of the event data. AI-POWERED ANALYTICS: WATCH OUR 3-MINUTE, DEMO- STYLE VIDEO See how Ventiv Analytics, powered by artificial intelligence, helps risk and patient safety managers cut through the noise and predict the most frequent key indicators that can impact falls. WATCH VIDEO >

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