FALL PREVENTION

JAMA report evaluates interventions to prevent falls

Best fall prevention strategies are evaluated in a new study. There’s a good amount of scientific evidence that functional exercises to boost leg strength and balance can be effective at preventing falls, a new study shows.  Other effective interventions include initiatives to monitor and improve vision, techniques to modify living environments, programs to deprescribe drugs when appropriate, and interventions for better foot care.

According to CNA Aging Services 2022 Claim Report data, resident falls account for over 40% of closed claims across aging services settings, with an average paid indemnity of over $226,000.

• Falls are the most frequent allegation, accounting for 54.8% of assisted living setting claims and 36.1% in skilled nursing.
• 8% of falls are unwitnessed.
• 7% of fall related claims involve a resident who had a history of a previous fall, and those claims are typically more costly. This history may result in higher expectations on the facility to implement measures to prevent recurrence, including additional monitoring.
• The most common fall-related allegations include failure to monitor, improper care by staff and unsafe residential environment.

As noted in CNA’s resource Resident Falls: A Collaborative Strategy for Risk Mitigation, no strategy can completely prevent falls, but aging services organizations can better manage care and outcome expectations while helping ensure that residents receive the attention and assistance they need.

EXCELAS CITT

Excelas helps facilities mitigate falls and defend fall-related claims.

Utilizing our Comprehensive Integrated Timeline Tool (CITT, pronounced “kit”), our medical-legal experts will review and develop a thorough analysis of the relevant documentation to assist administrators and counsel in risk mitigation, ultimately improving resident care.

CMS

Providers grateful for certain opportunities in proposed 2025 Medicare pay rule

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services got at least a few things right in the proposed pay rule, including rebasing rates to 2022 rates, the ability to review and correct PBJ data, proposed changes for the Patient Driven Payment Model’s non-therapy ancillary component, and including social determinants of health in the MDS.

However, experts fear a ‘bigger, stronger stick’ in the new Medicare pay rule. The proposal calls for increasing the rate and amount of possible civil monetary penalties. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposal estimated Thursday that they could cumulatively take an additional $25 million a year out of operators’ accounts, starting Oct. 1.

“It is disappointing that the CMS is not only choosing, again, to use the stick rather than the carrot, but is choosing a bigger, stronger stick,” said Jodi Eyigor, Director of Nursing Home Quality Public Policy for national provider association LeadingAge.

PERFORMANCE METRICS

Excelas Performance Metrics Jan 1 through March 31, 2024

19,320,454 Million pages reviewed
14,354 Medical Records reviewed
881 Hours of software development
383 National clients & firms

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