Video Monitoring to Reduce Falls And Patient Companion Costs For Adult Inpatients

With increasing acuity and simultaneous pressures for optimal productivity, reducing unnecessary patient companions has been a focus for many health care organizations. At the same time, nursing leaders are seeking to accelerate improvement in patient safety, specifically the prevention of falls. This study suggests the use of remote video monitoring is a safe tool for fall prevention. While there was a decrease in 1:1 sitter usage, there was no corollary increase in falls. In fact, falls decreased 35%. Not only was video monitoring a safe intervention, it was more effective than patient companions alone in decreasing falls by expanding the number of patients who are directly observed 24/7.