# How to Help Prevent the Next Fall in Your Older Patients

About This Podcast

1 in 4 adults 65+ fall each year and 1 out of 5 falls causes a serious injury. Fall death rates in the US increased by 30% between 2007 and 2016 and with the aging population this is an important and costly national problem. Falls cost Medicare $52 billion in 2020.

Gemcast host Dr. Christina Shenvi sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Goldberg to discuss falls and what ED clinicians can practically do in the ED. As the principal investigator of GAPcare – the Geriatric Acute and Post-Acute Fall Prevention Intervention, Dr. Goldberg developed and tested a multidisciplinary intervention that significantly reduced fall-related ED visits for older adults.

In this episode they answer the questions: What is the falls syndrome? How do we evaluate a patient who has fallen in the ED? What we can do in the ED and on discharge from the ED to prevent future falls? And what are some barriers that clinicians may face?

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https://youtu.be/0LqOgHby5-I

Resources

Goldberg EM, Marks SJ, Ilegbusi A, Resnik L, Strauss DH, Merchant RC. GAPcare: The Geriatric Acute and Post-Acute Fall Prevention Intervention in the Emergency Department: Preliminary Data. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2020 Jan;68(1):198-206. doi: 10.1111/jgs.16210. Epub 2019 Oct 17. PMID: 31621901; PMCID: PMC7001768. – View Article

Goldberg EM, Marks SJ, Resnik LJ, Long S, Mellott H, Merchant RC. 2020. Can an Emergency Department–Initiated Intervention Prevent Subsequent Falls and Health Care Use in Older Adults? A Randomized Controlled Trial. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 76(6):739–750. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2020.07.025. –  View Article

Related Resources

TOOLKIT | May 20, 2020

Falls and Mobility Implementation Toolkit

This toolkit offers resources that are designed to allow you to create sustainable quality improvement in the care of older adults who have fallen or are at risk of falling.

Explore Toolkit

Next, listen to Geri Immersive Simulation with Dr. Alice Gray and Dr. Brittany Ellis.

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