Falls in the acute hospital setting--impact on resource utilisation

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Resource Utilization

Background:

• Hospital falls represent a significant patient safety concern.
• Understanding the resource implications of patient falls is essential for effective healthcare management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the resource utilization of patients who fall within an acute metropolitan hospital.
• To identify patient groups at higher risk of increased length of stay and resource consumption due to falls.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective observational study of patient admissions over 18 months.
• Analysis of Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) associated with patient falls.
• Comparison of length of stay (LOS) and resource consumption between fallers and matched non-fallers.

Main Results:

• The DRG 'Dementia and other chronic disturbances of cerebral function' had the highest proportion of fallers (24%).
• Fallers in 'Delirium', 'Stroke', and 'Respiratory conditions' DRGs experienced significantly longer LOS.
• Significantly higher hospital-related costs were observed for fallers in the 'Stroke with severe/complicating diagnosis/procedure' DRG.

Conclusions:

• Patients who fall, particularly within high-risk DRGs, incur substantially longer inpatient stays and higher associated costs.
• Implementing targeted falls prevention strategies for high-risk patient groups is a priority for optimizing hospital resource utilization.
• Effective falls prevention contributes to improved patient outcomes and efficient healthcare delivery.