Morse Fall Scale

The Morse Fall Scale (MFS) is a rapid and simple method of assessing a patient’s likelihood of falling.[1] A large majority of nurses (82.9%) rate the scale as “quick and easy to use,” and 54% estimated that it took less than 3 minutes to rate a patient. "The scale consists of six items reflecting risk factors of falling such as: (i) history of falling, (ii) secondary diagnosis, (iii) ambulatory aids, (iv) intravenous therapy, (v) type of gait and (vi) mental status", [2]and it has been shown to have predictive validity and interrater reliability. The MFS is used widely in acute care settings, both in the hospital and long-term care inpatient settings. The manual for using the MFS is: Preventing Patient Falls (Morse, JM., Springer, 2007)