Simavita recognizes fall prevention awareness week with SIM platform technology.
Simavita, developer of the Smart Incontinence Management (SIM) medical device, the world’s first wearable integrated digital technology solution for continence care assessment and management, is pleased to recognize the National Fall Prevention Awareness Week 2015 by making its first U.S. pilot study available for healthcare providers.
The association between incontinence and falls in people over the age of 70 has been widely established in the scientific literature. Results from a large retrospective study confirmed the correlation between incontinence and falls for people over the age of 70 and demonstrated that a higher degree of incontinence is associated with a higher risk of falls.i Research also indicates that up to 50 percent of all falls in long term care facilities are incontinence-related.ii
The pilot study, conducted at Lorien Health Systems’ Lorien Bel Air, a senior rehabilitation facility located near Baltimore, evaluated one patient with a history of falls, most suffered in attempts to reach the bathroom. The patient sustained 17 falls in 2011 and 16 falls in 2012. Following the introduction of SIM™ to this patient’s toileting plan in June 2014, she has seen a dramatic reduction falls, with only one incident reported in 2015.
In 2013, the total direct medical costs of fall injuries for people 65 and older, adjusted for inflation, was $34 billion.iii Among community-dwelling older adults, fall-related injury is one of the 20 most expensive medical conditions.iv
SIM is the world’s first fully-instrumented incontinence tool that detects multiple incontinent episodes through a sensor embedded into an adult incontinence pad. The SIM sensor is a single use disposable device that connects to a durable transceiver that records and wirelessly transmits incontinence data to a server for storage and processing. The data collected is synchronized with incontinence related observations recorded by staff via an application displayed on a tablet or phone and can be used by the clinician to develop an evidence-based toileting plan to comply with the CMS MDS 3.0 Guidelines related to caring for residents with incontinence. The manual was designed for implementing standardized assessment of urinary and bowel continence and the interventions used to manage incontinence.
About SIM
SIM is a wireless sensor technology that delivers evidence-based instrument incontinence data on individuals. SIM provides user friendly tools and software to assess the incontinence condition and to help plan better outcomes. SIM is used to detect, record and report incontinence events during a compulsory or recommended assessment period in residential aged care facilities to develop an evidence-based incontinence care plan.
Conducting assessments is mandatory in many countries and the incontinence assessment creates an influential element of care of each individual.
Simavita
www.simavita.com
i Available at: http://reference.medscape.com/medline/abstract/21948857. Accessed September 2, 2015.
ii Available at: http://www.seekwellness.com/incontinence/fall_risk.htm. Accessed September 18, 2015.
iii Stevens JA, Corso PS, Finkelstein EA, Miller TR. The costs of fatal and nonfatal falls among older adults. Injury Prevention 2006a;12:290–5.
iv Carroll NV, Slattum PW, Cox FM. The cost of falls among the community-dwelling elderly. Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy. 2005;11(4):307-16 – See more at: http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2015/09/21/769809/10149910/en/Simavita-Recognizes-Fall-Prevention-Awareness-Week.html#sthash.MaMOusCo.dpuf
