Fall detection · 6 min read
What to ask a fall-detection vendor before you sign
What should I ask a fall detection vendor?
Ask about the bedroom camera, the false-alarm rate measured in a real building, shadow mode before go-live, where the data goes, what the system cannot see, integration with your nurse-call or EHR, the pilot structure, and what they will put in writing.
Key takeaways
- The right answer to the bedroom-camera question is no.
- A false-alarm rate is only meaningful if it was measured in a real building, per resident-day.
- Insist on shadow mode before go-live and a written list of what the system cannot see.
- If it is not in writing, it is not a commitment.
By NATSAR AI · Published
1. Is there a camera in the bedroom?
The answer you want: no. Bedrooms and bathrooms should use a sensor with no lens. Cameras belong in common areas only. If the answer is yes, ask how they handle the family meeting.
2. What is your false-alarm rate, measured where?
The answer you want: a number measured in a building like yours, expressed per resident-day, and a willingness to measure it again in your building. A rate from a demo or a lab is not the same thing.
3. Will you run silently before you go live?
The answer you want: yes, in shadow mode, logging what it would have alerted on, for long enough to measure real falls, response times, and false alarms before your staff sees a single alert.
4. Where does the video go?
The answer you want: detection runs on-site and raw video and sensor data never leave the building. Only small events and short clips from common areas reach the cloud, and only when you configure it. A Business Associate Agreement, per-facility encryption, and audited access should be standard.
5. What can it not see?
The answer you want: a straight list. Nothing outside sensor coverage. Not through walls. Not medical events that are not falls. And an honest account of the deliberate-lie-down problem and how borderline cases are handled. A vendor who claims to catch every fall has not told you the truth.
6. Does it work with what we already run?
The answer you want: it uses your existing cameras in common areas and integrates with your nurse-call or EHR once live, so alerts land where staff already look.
7. How is the pilot structured?
The answer you want: one building or one wing, defined rooms and sensors, roughly 90 days, success metrics agreed up front (response time, false alarms per resident-day, falls detected versus logged), and a clear path from pilot to portfolio.
8. What will you put in writing?
The answer you want: the coverage map, each sensor's limits, the consent plan, and the go-live gate. If it is not in writing, it is not a commitment.
Questions people ask
How long should a fall-detection pilot be?
About 90 days is a sound structure: roughly 30 days silent in shadow mode, 30 days live with alerts, and 30 days to document results before expanding.
Should a fall-detection vendor promise to catch every fall?
No. No system detects a fall outside a sensor's view, and honest vendors say so. Ask for measured rates and written limits instead of guarantees.
Bring your questions to a walkthrough.
Tell us about your facility or home. We will use a 30-minute walkthrough to discuss your setting, privacy questions, and next steps.