Inpatient Falls: Epidemiology, Risk Assessment, and Prevention Measures. A Narrative Review.

Background Patient falls are a common inpatient dilemma and comprise the largest category of preventable adverse events in hospitalized patients. These events place a clinical burden on the patient, such as increased morbidity and reduced quality of life, in addition to an economic burden on the hospital system. Fall prevention strategies have the opportunity to decrease inpatient health care costs and length of stay.