Bed-exit alarms. A component (but only a component) of fall prevention

Patient falls are a common cause of morbidity, nonfatal injuries, and trauma-related hospitalizations in the United States. Sometimes, they're even fatal. Falls typically occur either while the patient is getting into or out of bed or shortly after the patient has exited the bed. One means of helping to reduce the number of patient falls is the bed-exit alarm. Such alarms can be either built-in devices incorporated into the beds themselves or stand-alone units consisting of a portable control unit and a pressure- or position-sensitive sensor. They can serve as an "early warning system" alerting nursing staff when patients attempt to leave their beds unassisted. However, bed-exit alarms do not themselves prevent falls--a fact that is not always clearly understood. To be effective, they need to be implemented with care and with a clear understanding of their limitations. In this article, we describe the types of stand-alone bed-exit alarms currently available on the market and provide guidance to facilities on how to implement them effectively. We also review the elements of an effective fall-prevention program and recount one hospital's success in reducing patient falls. We are in the process of conducting a comparative evaluation of a number of bed-exit alarms, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Health Devices.