MA one of first states to post patient falls data

Patient Safety Monitor Alert

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October 17, 2007

Seventy acute care hospitals from across Massachusetts are voluntarily posting their patient fall rates, according to the Boston Globe. The Massachusetts Hospital Association's Web site provides a link to the newly posted data, which outlines hospital fall rates per 1,000 patients. Patient falls have long been considered a threat to patient safety, and fall prevention is one of The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals.

Massachusetts is one of the first states in the country to post performance-related data for consumers to decipher. However, higher numbers of falls do not always mean that a hospital does worse at preventing falls--it may be that much better at reporting falls, the story says.

To read the story, click here.