Orthopedic Injuries: Protocols to Prevent and Manage Patient Falls

Health care organizations must adopt a culture of safety and implement effective fall prevention protocols. The teach-back method is a useful strategy for health providers to determine patient understanding of information taught to maintain a safe environment and prevent falls. Purposeful rounding is a proactive approach to ensure that patient assessments are accurate and research supports that patients use the call light less when nurses participate in hourly rounding. This article provides the reader with evidence-based fall prevention interventions, tips for using the teach-back method, and fall prevention tools to safely care for patients of all ages.