Abstract

An estimated 700,000 to 1,000,000 hospitalized patients fall each year, and as many as one third of these falls are considered preventable.2 The total direct care cost to the U.S. healthcare system for all fall events in patients age 65 and older is $34 billion annually.3 At the individual hospital level, the unreimbursed costs for treating a hospital-related fall injury range from $7,000 to $30,000, depending on the severity of the injury.