Shared-Medical Appointment for Screening and Risk Assessment for Fall Prevention.

The median age of Americans is rising and fall risk increases with age. While the causes of falls are multifactorial, falls risk can be reduced. Only a small percentage of older-adults report being asked about fall risk or falls. The CDC has initiated a Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths and Injuries (STEADI) toolkit, but penetration into practice has been slow. To address this, we implemented a Falls Prevention Shared Medical Appointment (SMA) at an academic internal medicine clinic. Patients were referred to the SMA and scheduled per their preference virtually or in-person. Patients attended a nurse visit for appropriate fallrisk related screening, followed by the SMA with two physicians for review of medical history, fall screening results and implementation of fall reduction strategies. Follow-up survey of the patients assessed program effectiveness. Fifty-two patients were seen/assessed between November 2021 and February 2023 with SMAs ranging from 3 to 5 patients with an average age of 77 (=/- 6.7). Questionnaire self-reported risk factors, self-reported strength, and polypharmacy were associated with objective markers of increased fall risk. Survey results indicate acceptability of this model. Falls prevention SMAs can be effective. More work is needed to further delineate and refine cohort selection.