IHP 604 Module Ten Presentation PowerPoint

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ABC Surgical Center Report

Veronica Horne

IHP 604

Southern New Hampshire University

January 16, 2022

TO: Director, ABC Surgical Center

FROM: Assistant Director, ABC Surgical Center

DATE: January 16, 2022

SUBJECT: New Quality Improvement Initiatives

Elements of Evidence-Based Literature

Older Adult Falls Data by the CDC – Sarmiento, K., & Lee, R. (2017). STEADI: CDC's approach to make older adult fall prevention part of every primary care practice. Journal of safety research, 63, 105-109.

According to Sarmiento & Lee (2017), health providers play a significant role in protecting older adults from falls. According to their study, falls among older adults aged 65 and older are one of the prime causes of morbidity and death in the world. Furthermore, this leads to direct medical expenses of nearly $35 billion. To avoid these catastrophic falls, the CDC Injury Center forecasted the amount of older adult falls by 2030, as well as the related medical costs, before examining what modifications in clinician practices may be made to prevent such falls.

Preventing Falls in Hospitals by AHRQ - Cunha, L. F. C. D., Baixinho, C. L., & Henriques, M. A. (2019). Preventing falls in hospitalized elderly: design and validation of a team intervention. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 53.

In their study, Cunha, Baixinho & Henriques (2019) reflect on AHRQ's data on the number of falls and how team intervention could prevent falls for hospitalized elderly. 25 million older people fall every year, resulting in more than 30,000 fatalities. Every year, an additional 2 million older persons are sent to emergency rooms after falling, with one out of every five of them suffering from broken bones and bruises. According to Cunha, Baixinho & Henriques (2019), falls are not a natural aspect of aging and may be avoided by a systematic approach.

Report Validity

Data Collection

Data from the first article was compiled using the CDC's Reporting System. Meanwhile, data from the second article, which covered the number of falls among older people, were collected from AHRQ's website.

The first article is reliable for many reasons. First, it was published in the NCBI, which promotes research and health by providing access to scientific and genetic information. Second, the study used the CDC's WISQARS cost module to show the size of the overall lifetime medical cost of fatal falls and the CDC's Reporting System. The second report, on the other hand, is also reliable since the research was conducted by competent researchers who used data from AHRQ, a recognized body that produces evidence meant to make healthcare safer, more accessible, affordable, and equitable.

According to the researchers in the first article, these severe falls should be treated as regular in primary care to help mitigate their vastness. A hospital should evaluate the risk of falls, devise medication plans suited to each patient's practical skills (Sarmiento & Lee, 2017). This conclusion is legitimate since research suggests that fatal adult falls might approach 100,000 per year, with a cost of about $100 billion, and that if we do nothing, it would be too dangerous. According to the second research, the predicted 25 million people would decrease to 7 million by 2030, which is in accordance with the previous projection.

Report Applicability

Both studies apply to the ABC Surgical Center since the number of falls at the surgical center has been high, necessitating a change in primary care routine to prevent more falls. Both reports recommended incorporating fall risk screening, evaluating and changing medicines, and prescribing vitamin D supplements to patients as measures to reduce rather than add to the five falls that occurred in the surgical center over a month. Furthermore, the CDC's effort provides a practical strategy to implementing the clinical practice guideline for fall prevention developed by the American and British Geriatrics Societies.

Metric Comparison

Through a study of data, the first report's metrics of data used the CDC and US Census Bureau data that estimated fatal adult falls could reach 100,000 per year with an associated cost of about $100 billion by 2030. The second research indicated that 25 million older adult falls occur yearly, and, like the previous report, the study predicted that this number would rise if a feasible solution is not implemented.

Recommendation

I believe the surgical center should include fall risk evaluations into their usual general care, and fall risk patients should be given particular attention to preventing deadly falls. In addition, an interdisciplinary Implementation team with a strong connection to hospital administration and people with the requisite skills is required, to prevent falls. This group will manage the surgical center's fall prevention program by making important design choices, implementing improvement activities, and tracking the new routine's success. These suggestions should be adopted as quickly as possible since being prepared for change is essential for avoiding further complications.

Organizational Culture Improvements

Once these guidelines are implemented, there would be a team leader who would keep track of the team's progress, which would include:

· Within 24 hours after admission, a fall risk factor evaluation is performed.

· The drugs that patients are taking are evaluated for their potential to cause them to fall.

· Patients who need regular toileting assistance are assisted as soon as possible.

References

Cunha, L. F. C. D., Baixinho, C. L., & Henriques, M. A. (2019). Preventing falls in hospitalized elderly: design and validation of a team intervention. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 53.

Sarmiento, K., & Lee, R. (2017). STEADI: CDC's approach to make older adult fall prevention part of every primary care practice. Journal of safety research, 63, 105-109.