Use of Prehospital Providers to Screen Older Adults for Fall Risk

Primary care referrals to fall prevention programs for geriatric patients have previously been shown to be effective. To assess whether screening and referral by prehospital providers is also effective, researchers conducted a systematic review of the current literature describing prehospital fall risk screening and referral programs for community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 years.

Six studies (2 randomized, 4 nonrandomized) were included in the analysis. Most described the use of a semistructured risk assessment or chief-complaint–based referral intervention by emergency medical services (EMS) professionals. One unblinded randomized controlled trial demonstrated a 14.3% absolute reduction in annual fall risk. Rates of successful follow-up for …