Which Ways of Reducing Risks are Best?
A process that requires ongoing patient evaluation and monitoring will result in optimizing bed safety. Many patients go through a period of adjustment
to become comfortable with new options. Patients and their families should talk to their health care planning team to find out which options are best
for them.
Patient or Family Concerns About Bed Rail Use
If patients or family ask about using bed rails, health care providers should:
•
Encourage patients or family to talk to their health care planning team to determine whether or not bed rails are indicated.
•
Reassure patients and their families that in many cases the patient can sleep safely without bed rails.
•
Reassess the need for using bed rails on a frequent, regular basis.
To report an adverse event or medical device problem, please call FDA's MedWatch Reporting Program at 1-800-FDA-1088.
For additional copies of the brochure, see the FDA's website at http://www.fda.gov/MedicaDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/
GeneralHospitalDevicesandSupplies/HospitalBeds/default.htm.
For more information about this brochure, contact Beryl Goldman at 610-388-5580 or by e-mail at bgoldman@kcorp.kendal.org. She has volunteered
to answer questions.
For information regarding a specific hospital bed, contact the bed manufacturer directly.
Developed by the Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup
Participating Organizations:
•
AARP
•
ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Section
•
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
•
American Health Care Association
•
American Medical Directors Association
•
American Nurses Association
•
American Society for Healthcare Engineering of the American
Hospital Association
•
American Society for Healthcare Risk Management
•
Basic American Metal Products
•
Beverly Enterprises, Inc.
•
Care Providers of Minnesota
•
Carroll Healthcare
•
DePaul College of Law
Updated April 2010
•
ECRI
•
Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society
•
Hill-Rom Co., Inc.
•
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
•
Medical Devices Bureau, Health Canada
•
National Association for Homecare
•
National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform
•
National Patient Safety Foundation
•
RN+ Systems
•
Stryker Medical
•
Sunrise Medical, Inc.
•
The Jewish Home and Hospital
•
Untie the Elderly, The Kendal Corporation
•
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
7
2 APPENDIX
The FDA's Brochure