Not only are falls particularly harmful to seniors, but they come at a huge cost to the health care system as well.
Falls among older U.S. adults add up to $50 billion in medical costs each year, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 out of 4 people ages 65 and older fall each year, and more than 3 million are treated in emergency departments for fall injuries each year.
The study looked at data from the 2015 National Vital Statistics System and cost estimates from the Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System for fatal falls and data from the Medicare Current Beneficiaries Survey for nonfatal falls. It found that the estimated medical costs attributed to fatal and nonfatal falls added up to about $50 billion, with Medicare paying about $28.9 billion, Medicaid $8.7 billion and private and other payers $12 billion. Fatal falls were estimated to total $754 million in overall medical spending.
The study also indicated marked disparities among people at an increased risk of falling, including people who were female, white, older and low income. Health status was also a strong marker of falling risk, with people who fell reporting that they had much worse health and more chronic conditions.
Falls can take a major toll on the health and wellness of older adults. And falls that are less serious can still have a negative impact on older people’s lives, said study co-author Gwen Bergen, PhD, behavioral scientist in CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
“Even falls that don’t require medical treatment can impact an older adult’s quality of life, as many people who fall become afraid of falling,” Bergen told The Nation’s Health. “Fear of falling can result in older adults limiting their activities so that they become weaker and increase their chances of falling.”
She noted that health care providers are integral in fall prevention among older adults but may lack sufficient time to discuss falls with patients. One solution is CDC’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, initiative, which offers a toolkit to make fall risk assessment and fall prevention part of clinical practice. The toolkit also includes educational materials for patients and their caregivers.
Bergen added that older adults and their caregivers must be educated on fall prevention and should discuss falls with health care providers during regular visits, regardless of whether they required medical treatment for a fall.
“Public health can play an important role by encouraging and educating health care providers to adapt STEADI or other interventions, conduct evaluation and effectiveness studies and educate health system administrators and policy makers on both the health and economic burden associated with older adult falls and effective ways to prevent falls,” she said.
For more information, visit https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jgs.15304.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
