The Importance of NPSG Goal 9: Falls Reduction and Patient Safety

This report examines the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) with a specific focus on Goal 9, which addresses the reduction of falls, particularly among the elderly. The report highlights the significance of this goal, emphasizing the high incidence of falls and the associated risks, including injuries, reduced mobility, and financial burdens. The report discusses the importance of the goal, the healthcare settings targeted (nursing care centers and home care settings), and the purpose of establishing standards to reduce falls. It further identifies the targeted area of improvement, such as communication gaps, lack of supervision, and obstacles. By analyzing the causes and consequences of falls, the report underscores the importance of continuous improvement to protect the health and well-being of the elderly, as well as to reduce associated healthcare costs. The report references key sources such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Joint Commission to support its findings.

Running head: NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOALS
NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOALS
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1NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOALS
Introduction
The National Patient Safety Goals (NPSGs) have been formulated by the Joint
Commission (2019) for the purpose of improve the safety and quality of clinical interventions
delivered across healthcare organizations. The following paper will briefly discuss on the
importance, purpose and targeted area of improvement with regards to NPSG Goal 9, that is,
‘NPSG.09.02.01: Reduce the risk of falls’.
Discussion
Importance of the Goal
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2019) has recently reported that
one out of every four elderly individual aged 65 years or above, have been evidenced to
encounter a fall annually in the United States. Approximately 30, 000 deaths with falls as a key
contributor have been reported across the elderly (CDC, 2019). Falls pave the way for injuries,
risk of permanent loss of movement and hip fractures, which further impair emotional, social,
physiological and psychological wellbeing in the elderly and also pave way for the extensive
medical expenditures. There is hence a need to establish standards targeting the reduction of falls
related incidences and risks of falls in order to prevent the above health and financial
consequences, which thus makes this NPSG important (Burns, Stevens & Lee, 2016). The
healthcare settings targeted by NPSG.09.02.01 of Goal 9, comprise of nursing care centers and
home care settings (Joint Commission, 2019).
Purpose
The purpose of Goal 9 is to establish healthcare organizational standards targeting
reductions in the risk of harms acquired as a result of falls across the elderly. The purpose of

2NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOALS
NPSG.09.02.01 of Goal 9, is to specifically target establishment of standards for reducing the
risk of falls across the elderly (Joint Commission, 2019).
Targeted Area of Improvement
Incidences of falls in healthcare organizations are largely caused due to lack of
communication and coordination across healthcare professionals, lack of supervision and
monitoring and the prevalence of obstacles or lack of support across the organization. The
preventable nature of falls and associated long term risks to health and wellbeing to the elderly
are the reasons why this area must be targeted for continuous improvement (Burns, Stevens &
Lee, 2016).
Conclusion
This paper thus successfully discusses on the importance and purpose of NPSG 9,
concerning reduction of harms and risk of falls encountered by the elderly. To conclude, this area
must be targeted for continuous improvement considering the long term, life limited health issues
faced by the elderly as a result of falls.

3NATIONAL PATIENT SAFETY GOALS
References
Burns, E. R., Stevens, J. A., & Lee, R. (2016). The direct costs of fatal and non-fatal falls among
older adults—United States. Journal of safety research, 58, 99-103.
CDC. (2019). Keep on Your Feet. Retrieved 15 January 2020, from
https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/older-adult-falls/index.html.
Joint Commission. (2019). National Patient Safety Goals. Retrieved 15 January 2020, from
https://www.jointcommission.org/en/standards/national-patient-safety-goals/.