ECRI: Data analysis on patient falls (June 2026)

Summary

Patient transfers accounted for nearly half of falls events reported to ECRI in a new analysis, underscoring how routine patient movement activities can create major safety vulnerabilities. 

The latest data analysis from the ECRI and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices Patient Safety Organization (PSO) shows that patient transfers, toileting and ambulation-related falls are the most common event types. About 30% of falls reported involved patients under 65 years old, challenging the assumption that fall prevention is solely or exclusively an issue for older adults.

Content

Data findings

• When falls happen: Patient transfers, toileting, and ambulation—all routine, necessary care activities—collectively account for more than 85% of reported falls.Transfer is by far the highest risk moment, accounting for nearly half of all falls (45.3%). Toileting is the second most common trigger at 30.7%, while falls occurring during ambulation accounted for 9.4%.
• Transfer-related falls were defined as those that involve patient movement from one surface or location to another, such as between a bed, chair, stretcher, or wheelchair. Ambulation-related falls occurred while patients were walking or moving through care environments, with or without assistance, including in their hospital room or hallway.
• Which patients are at risk: Falls are not limited to older patients. Working-age adults (18–64) represented the largest single age group in this analysis, accounting for 29.3% of falls events. This is a reminder that fall risk assessment and prevention protocols, especially in acute care settings, should not overlook younger adults.
• Where do most falls occur: In this data snapshot, falls are overwhelmingly concentrated in acute care facilities (68.1%) such as hospitals. Falls were also reported across post-acute care facilities like nursing homes, rehabilitation centres, home health, ambulatory care behavioural health, and cancer centres. This is somewhat a reflection of the membership base of the ECRI and ISMP PSO, which includes more acute care hospitals and health systems than nursing homes and post-acute care facilities.
• Power of reporting: The analysis demonstrates the importance of detailed event reporting. More than 9,000 of the reports were noted as ‘near-misses’ or unsafe conditions (rather than serious events or incidents of harm), which reflects ongoing efforts to encourage reporting. Organizations that collect and analyse near miss events are given insight into conditions, workflows, and processes that could lead to harm and more importantly an opportunity to prevent harm.
• Large “unknown” categories within fall location and patient age suggest an opportunity to better capture this information to strengthen organisations’ ability to fully understand risk patterns and identify opportunities for improvement.