INTRODUCTIONThe effectiveness of integrated care pathways for hip fractures in subacute rehabilitation settings is not known. The study objective was to assess if a hip fracture integrated care pathway at a subacute rehabilitation facility would result in better functional outcomes, shorter length of stay and fewer institutionalisations.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA randomised controlled trial on an integrated care pathway for hip fracture patients in a subacute rehabilitation setting. Modified Barthel Index, ambulatory status, SF-12, length of stay, discharge destination, hospital readmission and mortality were measured. Followup assessments were up to 1 year post-hip fracture.

RESULTSThere were no significant differences in Montebello Rehabilitation Factor Scores and proportions achieving premorbid ambulatory status at discharge, 6 months and 12 months respectively. There was a significant reduction in the median length of stay between the control group at 48.0 days and the intervention group at 35.0 days (P = 0.009). The proportion of readmissions to acute hospitals was similar in both groups up to 1 year. There were no significant differences for nursing home stay up to 1 year post-discharge and mortality at 1 year.

CONCLUSIONOur study supports the use of integrated care pathways in subacute rehabilitation settings to reduce length of stay whilst achieving the same functional gains.

Hip Fractures ; Humans ; Prospective Studies

The Health Promotion Board (HPB) has developed the Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) on Falls Prevention among Older Adults Living in the Community to provide health professionals in Singapore with recommendations for evidence-based assessments and interventions for falls prevention. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary of the key recommendations from the HPB-MOH CPG on Falls Prevention among Older Adults Living in the Community for the information of SMJ readers. The chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Health Promotion Board website: http://www.hpb.gov. sg/cpg-falls-prevention. The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.
Accidental Falls ; prevention & control ; Aged ; Environment ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Geriatrics ; standards ; Health Promotion ; methods ; Housing ; Humans ; Incidence ; Middle Aged ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Risk Assessment ; methods ; Singapore ; Social Class