Care program for fall prevention

Contracted care

Medication counseling Eldercare Fall Prevention Fall Risk Independent living

Elders 65 and older are often at risk for falls. This can lead to nasty injuries, such as broken bones or brain damage. Every day, more than 280 seniors end up in the emergency room due to a fall. This has major consequences for their health, quality of life and also for healthcare costs.

You can do something to prevent falls. This is called fall prevention. By looking at the causes of falls, such as medications you take or an increased risk, together we can reduce the risk of falling.

What does the pharmacy do?

From the pharmacy, we like to help reduce the risk of falling. We can:

Recognize risk factors, such as through a brief fall risk test.
Advise on your medication, such as stopping or adjusting medications that increase the risk of falling.
Refer you to a physical therapist or other health care provider for an exercise program or further analysis.

How does this care program work?

We have developed a care program to reduce falls. This program consists of the following steps:

We select patients with a higher risk of falling:
- People over the age of 65 who are taking certain medications, such as sleeping or tranquilizers (benzodiazepines).
- People with osteoporosis (osteoporosis).
- People who have osteoporosis as well as use sleeping or tranquilizers.
We assess fall risk using a short fall risk test:
We assess your fall risk using a short questionnaire.
Eventually we refer you:
If it appears that you are at increased risk, we may refer you to a physical therapist (for exercises or an exercise program) or another health care provider.
We have a fall risk consultation at the pharmacy:
If you have a high risk profile, we will invite you to a consultation. During this consultation we will go through a comprehensive medication list; the StoppFall medication list. Based on these lists additional questions we can help you with advice, possible medication adjustments or referral to a physical therapist, for example.
The StoppFall Risk List is a medication list that helps identify fall-risk medications and the steps that can be taken to support medication taper or adjustment
During the fall risk consultation, we will discuss:
- The medication use: Sleeping aids, blood pressure reducers or other medications that can cause falls.
- Your health: Previous falls, dizziness, balance problems, osteoporosis or muscle weakness.
- Your lifestyle and environment: Do you exercise enough? Is your home furnished safely?
- Other factors:Vision or hearing problems, or use of assistive devices.
Medication Counseling:
We support you in stopping, reducing or replacing medications that increase the risk of falling.