Prevention of Patient Falls Toolkit

Prevention of Patient Falls

The resources in this toolkit may only be used for internal improvement and education efforts. They may not be used for commercial purposes.

To support the ASC industry's focus on high quality care, the ASC Quality Collaboration has assembled an ASC Tools for Prevention of Patient Falls toolkit. All patients cared for in ambulatory surgery centers, not just older or frail individuals, may be at heightened risk for a fall due to the impact of the procedures and surgeries performed, as well as the attendant sedation, anesthesia, and/or analgesia involved in providing these services safely and comfortably.

Our goal is to make fall prevention resources and information readily accessible to ASCs by bringing them together in one location. These materials may be used to supplement your current processes to prevent patient falls. They include:

The materials presented here include donated resources from the members of the ASC Quality Collaboration as well as publicly available resources from the following organizations:

It is important that these materials be adapted to meet the needs of each center so that their use is appropriate to the patients, procedures, and environment of each individual facility.

Additional resources may be available from organizations such as AORN, The Joint Commission, AAAHC, and ASPAN.

Comments and other feedback may be directed to Kathy Wilson, Executive Director, ASC Quality Collaboration, kathy.wilson@ascquality.org.

Implementation Tools

Patient Fall Risk Assessment Tools

  • Morse Fall Scale
    The Morse Fall Scale is a widely used and validated fall risk assessment tool for adult patients.
  • Humpty Dumpty Scale
    The Humpty Dumpty Scale is widely used for pediatric fall risk assessment. Though not specifically designed for the outpatient surgery setting, it does take the effects of surgery/sedation/anesthesia into account.
  • Fall Risk Factor Assessment
    This is an example of a fall risk factor assessment form used to assess risk on admission and later during the patient's stay.

Patient Education Resources

Training Materials

Tools For When a Fall Occurs

  • Post-Fall Clinical Assessment (AHRQ)
    A modified version of an Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality resource, this tool provides steps for assessing patients after a fall. It includes the Glasgow Coma Scale for reference.
  • Fall Debriefing Form
    This form may be used to capture information regarding a patient fall that can be used to identify factors involved and to describe actions to be taken to prevent additional falls in the center.

Workplace Reminders