Daily Report Blog

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) released its final recommendation statement on the Prevention of Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults on 5/28/12.  AOA Trustee Robert S. Juhasz, DO, our task force liaison, reported that the USPSTF recommends exercise or physical therapy and vitamin D supplementation to prevent falls in community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older who are at increased risk for falls.  The USPSTF did not recommend automatically performing an in-depth multifactorial risk assessment in conjunction with comprehensive management of identified risks because the likelihood of benefit is small.  In determining whether this service is appropriate in individual cases, patients and clinicians should consider the balance of benefits and harms on the basis of the circumstances of prior falls, co-morbid medical conditions, and patient values.  Supporting documents are available online​.