The rates of falls, injuries, and hospitalizations among the elderly population continue to impact them negatively. The psychological fear of falling affects their ability to function at optimal capacity, leading to the dependence on others for assistance(Schoene et al., 2019). Elderly falls lead to increased healthcare costs. According to Florence at al. (2018), 6% of Medicare expenditures, 8% of Medicaid expenditures, and 5% of other sources including out-of-pocket spending and private insurance spending are associated with falls; with falls attributable expenditures of $12billion for other payment sources, $28.9 billion for Medicare, and $8.7 billion for Medicaid. Innovative measures to prevent falls among the elderly will reduce these fall-related expenditures and mitigate the negative impacts of falls among this vulnerable population while promoting good quality of life.
Innovation is the process of implementing new marketing or organization strategies while creating various resources for sustainability (Dogan, 2017). Every organization requires some funding to keep up with the innovative process, therefore, it is necessary to determine the source of funding and their ability for sustainability. Also, innovation can sometimes be difficult, but knowing the source of funding and the right support will lead to successful innovation. Various innovative measures have benefited the elderly population in preventing them from falling, and this includes the utilization of durable medical equipment like wheelchairs and walkers.
Some organizations support innovative measures to prevent falls among the geriatric population, and one of them is the Arizona Falls Prevention Coalition. They promote fall prevention through their mission which is to reduce the risk of falls in Arizona through education, outreach, evaluation, and advocacy. The involvement and collaboration of stakeholders, and policymakers in the innovative process to implement fall prevention measures will impact the healthcare system positively by reducing medical costs and improving the health outcomes of the geriatric population.
References
AZDHS | Arizona Falls Prevention Coalition. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2020, from https://azdhs.gov/prevention/tobacco-chronic-disease/healthy-aging/falls-prevention/index.php
Dogan, E., (2017). A strategic approach to innovation. Journal of Management, Marketing and Logistics (JMML), 4(3), 290-300. http://doi.org/10.17261/Pressacademia.2017.491
Florence, C.S., Bergen, G., Atherly, A., Burns, E., Stevens, J., & Drake, C. (2018). Medical costs of fatal and non-fatal falls in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 66(4), 693-698. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.15304
Schoene, D., Heller, C., Aung, Y. N., Sieber, C. C., Kemmler, W., & Freiberger, E. (2019). A systematic review on the influence of fear of falling on quality of life in older people: is there a role for falls? Clinical interventions in aging, 14, 701–719. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S197857
The Impacts of Falls on Geriatric Population with Dementia 
Kate,
Thank you for your post. I think this is a very important topic, particularly since our aging population continues to grow. Knowing the expenses related to fall-related injuries is important to continue to find innovation solutions to combat this issue. Falls are the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths and about one third of the elderly over the age of 65 experience falls annually (Khanuja, Joki, Bachmann & Cuccurullo, 2018). About 646,000 falls result in death each year about 37.3 million individuals experience a fall that leads to hospitalization, fractures and traumatic brain injuries (Khanuja, Joki, Bachmann & Cuccurullo, 2018). Most of the evidence I have read regarding fall prevention discusses the relationship between stable gait, health maintenance and functionality.
Innovation can help address using some of these concerns by incorporating technology to address this topic. Three-tier models for fall prevention include assessments, prevention and interventions including resources and technology to overcome limitations (Khanuja, Joki, Bachmann & Cuccurullo, 2018). Some of the technological innovations focused on incorporating rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft to offer medical transportation to bring patients to and from appointments (Khanuja, Joki, Bachmann & Cuccurullo, 2018). Medicaid prgraoms in nine states have begun to cover the cost of these non-emergent transports (Khanuja, Joki, Bachmann & Cuccurullo, 2018). Although this may seem like a very basic “innovation” expanding transportation services to these individauls and making it easily available through their own phone is a great idea to address this issue!
References
Khanuja, K., Joki, J., Bachmann, G., & Cuccurullo, S. (2018). Gait and balance in the aging population: Fall prevention using innovation and technology. Maturitas, 110, 51-56. doi: 10.1016/j.maturitas.2018.01.021
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this very important topic. I found the link to the Arizona Falls Prevention Coalition resources especially enlightening. My mother is 79 years old, and she has benefited from the suggestions in the brochure “6 steps to prevent a fall.” At some time over the past 10 years, she has had to address all of the fall prevention recommendations, including her vision, balance, and reviewing her medications. She also knows that because she takes a beta-blocker, she needs to get up slowly. My mother’s cognition is intact, and I realize this must be all the more challenging with someone with dementia. It seems the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is attempting to incent healthcare providers to prevent falls with penalties. It would be nice if they would offer incentives for people who come up with innovative solutions backed by research, especially if they helped dementia patients sleep while in strange locations like hospitals.
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Hello Kate,
Thank you for this information. I believe you are correct by saying that innovation is important to promote better outcomes for our elderly population. Acknowledging that the elderly population are at risk for falls resulting to expensive healthcare services, fractures, brain injuries and poor quality of life. Therefore, this calls for us, healthcare workers, to be an advocate for these frail elderly. Creating a safe environment to promote better quality of life through innovative ideas like using evidence based algorithms in nursing homes or hospitals may prevent further falls in the elderly. Involving multidisciplinary healthcare providers in promoting fall prevention may be helpful as well. This promotes continuity of care and established responsibilities on all healthcare providers working with the elderly person. Cost analysis on implementing an evidence based intervention is needed to determine suitability and sustainability of the chosen intervention.
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