Policy Analysis: Hahnemann University Hospital's Fall Prevention Policy

Policy Analysis: Hahnemann University Hospital's Fall Prevention Policy
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Policy Analysis: Hahnemann University Hospital's Fall Prevention Policy
Introduction
Patient fall remains one of the most significant challenges in patient safety, despite being avoidable. Patient falls present an economic burden to patients and healthcare organizations (LeLaurin & Shorr, 2019). Healthcare organizations also face potential litigations when patients experience injuries or death following a fall. To this end, many healthcare organizations have implemented fall prevention programs or policies. The policies provide healthcare professionals with guidelines on preventing falls and responding in the event of a fall. However, the effectiveness of the fall policies is influenced by how current the policy is, especially because the more recent the policy, the more evidence-based it is and the more it incorporates current changes in regulations. This executive summary analyzes Hahnemann University Hospital's fall prevention policy by identifying issues in the policy, proposing revisions, and discussing the legal significance of the proposed revisions. It also offers a personal perspective on the revisions.
The Policy
Hahnemann University Hospital's fall prevention policy was written in 2002 and has only been revised once, in 2013. This means that the hospital has been using the same policy for fall prevention for almost ten years without considering changes in regulation and current evidence. The policy’s primary purpose is to establish the guidelines for patient fall prevention, patient fall risk assessment, healthcare professionals’ actions in the event of a fall, and staff responsibility for patient safety (Hahnemann University Hospital, 2013). The policy effectively defines terms pertaining to patient falls, such as intentional and accidental falls. It also identifies the key factors that increase the risk of patient falls, including those associated with secondary diagnoses.
Further, the policy describes the procedure for the initial risk of fall assessment, performed by the admitting registered nurse using the Morse Fall Scale Risk Screening Tool (Hahnemann University Hospital, 2013). It also provides the procedure for follow-up assessment and medication-related fall assessment. As part of the medication-related fall assessment, the policy includes a list of medication classifications that can increase the risk of falls. It also provides guidelines for post-fall management, including injury assessment, radiological studies and tests, the individuals to be notified of the fall, vital signs assessment, and documentation of the fall in the patient’s medical records. All these aspects make the policy effective in fall prevention. However, several issues hinder its effectiveness, especially in light of current regulations and evidence. These issues are discussed in the section below.
Issues Identified in the Policy
One of the primary issues identified is in relation to HIPAA and PHI. Specifically, the policy does not address HIPAA compliance in patient referrals. It indicates that for patients with low and moderate ...