Wearable Device to Reduce Falls in Hospitals

Running head: HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Wearable device to reduce falls in hospitals
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

1HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Introduction- Health technology is an umbrella term and refers to the implementation
of definite skills and knowledge in the form of vaccines, medicines, devices, systems and
procedures that are developed, with the aim of solving an existing health issue (Lehoux,
2014). The implementation of health technology helps in improving the quality of lives of the
people who receive healthcare services and typically encompass the usage of standardised
physical items, during care delivery. The effects of technology in the domain of health and
social care comprises of three major aspects namely, (i) quality of human life, (ii) world
economy, and (iii) healthcare related jobs (Khangura et al., 2014). Among the potential
benefits of health technology, reduction in rates of preventable death also counts, which in
turn improves patient wellbeing. This essay will elaborate on the implementation of wearable
devices for addressing a problem that is prevalent in the healthcare sector.
Problem identified- As per global estimates, every year roughly 700,000-1,000,000
individuals residing in the United States suffer from fall related accidents in hospital settings
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Such falls have often been associated
with the occurrence of lacerations, fractures, and/or internal bleeding, thereby leading to an
increase in health care utilization. Such falls of patients are commonly defined as a form of
unplanned and sudden descent to a surface, or floor, with or without any major injury (Singh,
Okeke & Edwards, 2015). In addition, the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
does not provide any reimbursement to the hospitals for prevention and management of the
traumatic injuries that are encountered by a patient, during the hospitalisation period.
Healthcare staff employed in acute care hospitals most often displays a multifaceted
and potentially contradictory set of objectives when treating the patients. Hospice personnel
are primarily entitled with the duty of managing the problem that impelled the patient's
admission, in addition to keeping them safe, and helping them recover or maintain their

2HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
physical and mental function (Staggs, Mion & Shorr, 2014). This calls for the need of
balancing fall prevention against other priorities.
Time and again researchers have provided evidences for the common challenges that
are encountered by healthcare professionals during fall prevention. It has been found that fall
prevention technique implementation requires the adoption of an interdisciplinary care
approach. While specific portions of fall prevention care are extremely routinized, other
features must be personalised to meet the needs and risk profile of each patient (Koshmak,
Loutfi & Linden, 2016). Incidence of falls in hospitals cannot be reduced by nurses alone.
Rather, fall prevention would require the dynamic engagement of numerous persons, in
addition to the implementation of health technology. In addition, there are numerous
explanations for the substantial increase in rates of patient falls per patient days or per
discharge, and are certainly interrelated. Poor accident reporting systems, increased average
age of patients, more impairment, more rates of acutely ill patients, and heavy sedation are
some of the common factors that contribute to fall risks (Weil, 2015). In addition, less time is
often spent by the nursing personnel at the patient’s bedside, thus increasing fall rates.
Health technology- According to Zheng et al. (2014) wearable device or wearable
refer to smart electronic devices having microcontrollers that are primarily incorporated in
the garments, or worn by people in the form of accessories or implants. These devices
comprise of activity trackers that are a major component of Internet of Things and enable the
easy exchange of information, via the internet, with operators, manufacturers, and connected
devices, not necessarily requiring any human intervention. In addition, the wearable
technologies have also been associated with a reduction in the overall costs of hospitalisation
(Patel, Asch & Volpp, 2015). This is accomplished through constant monitoring of the patient
health indicators in various domains, following the integration of the devices with mobile
applications and telemedicine, to assemble medical Internet of Things. Recent evidences