We’ve all worked tirelessly towards goals, only to fall short of desired outcomes. This scenario is all too familiar in healthcare, where hospitals strive continually to reduce patient falls—yet falls remain the most common sentinel event reported since 2019, with cases rising each year.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), sentinel events like patient falls are classified as “never events”—they should never occur. And yet, the data is alarming: in 2023, 48% of all sentinel events reported to The Joint Commission were due to falls, with 4% resulting in death, 8% in permanent harm, and 80% in severe harm to patients. Considering that only a fraction of falls are reported to The Joint Commission, our insights into falls come almost entirely from outside reporting.
Fall risk is compounded by factors like age, mobility limitations, medication side effects, and environmental hazards—factors that many hospitalized patients face. These risks are further amplified by current challenges in healthcare: a nursing shortage, a shortage of support staff, an aging patient population, and sicker patients overall. According to a recent LookDeep survey, patients themselves are increasingly aware of these challenges, with a significant portion expressing concerns that staffing shortages could jeopardize their safety and care. This awareness underscores the importance of embracing technology that can mitigate these risks and support overburdened healthcare teams.
Many hospitals have turned to Virtual Sitting programs over the past decade to monitor patients and prevent falls. While these programs have expanded monitoring capacity beyond traditional 1:1 in-person sitters, they still reach only about 3-7% of patients, leaving the majority unmonitored. As a result, at a macro level falls remain the most frequent sentinel event. .
AI offers a game-changing opportunity to amplify the reach and effectiveness of Virtual Sitting programs. With VisionAI, virtual sitters can monitor and respond to more patients, and interventions can be tailored more precisely to each patient’s unique risks. This enhanced, AI-driven monitoring can make meaningful reductions in fall rates across entire hospitals.
With 2024 drawing to a close, the healthcare industry eagerly awaits the year’s sentinel event report, knowing the importance of continuous progress. By embracing innovative solutions like VisionAI, we can make a collective, measurable impact on fall prevention, ensuring that 2025 and beyond reflect improved patient safety and quality measures.
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