Planning for Safe Hospital Discharge by Identifying Patients Likely to Fall After Discharge

Acute care physical therapists recommend discharge locations and services in part to help prevent falls during post-discharge recovery. Therapists may use standardized tests to inform their recommendation decisions, but evidence linking test scores with fall risk after discharge is lacking. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the associations between Tinetti Performance-Oriented Mobility Assessment (POMA) and Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care Inpatient Mobility Short Form (AM-PAC IMSF) scores and falls in the first 30 days after hospital discharge. Anticipating that agreement between therapist recommendations and discharge locations and services (discharge agreement), age, and sex could impact those associations, these factors were included in this investigation.

In this observational cohort study, 258 hospitalized patients consented to medical record data extraction and answered a phone survey 30 days after discharge to report whether they had experienced a fall since leaving the hospital. POMA and AM-PAC IMSF tests were administered for every patient. Participants' age, sex, diagnosis, last POMA score, last AM-PAC IMSF score, physical therapist discharge recommendations, actual discharge location and services, discharge date, and phone number were collected from their medical records.

When analyzed alone, higher POMA scores were associated with lower odds of falling, but the association was not significant after adjustment for other factors. Neither AM-PAC IMSF scores, age, nor sex were associated with falls. Discharge agreement, however, was associated with 59% lower odds of falling after adjustment for other factors.

Participants, who were discharged to the location with the services recommended by their physical therapist, were less likely to fall. Tinetti POMA and AM-PAC IMSF scores did not discriminate well participants who would fall.

Findings in this study inform those involved in discharge planning on the value of implementing physical therapist recommendations in reducing fall risk after hospital discharge.

If physical therapist discharge recommendations are implemented, patients are less likely to fall during the month after hospital discharge. Balance and mobility test scores may provide therapists valuable information, but they are limited in their ability to identify who will fall after discharge.