Morse Fall Scale Calculator

This calculator implements the Morse Fall Scale, a widely used inpatient fall-risk screening tool that nurse researcher Janice Morse and colleagues developed and published in 1989, built from six weighted risk factors rather than a simple 1-4 rubric per item. Each factor contributes a specific point value when present: History of Falling adds 25 points, Secondary Diagnosis adds 15, Ambulatory Aid adds 15 (crutches/cane/walker) or 30 (furniture for support), IV/Heparin Lock adds 20, Gait adds 10 (weak) or 20 (impaired), and Mental Status adds 15 when the patient overestimates their own abilities or forgets limitations. Total Morse Score is the sum of whichever point values apply, out of a maximum possible 125.

Unlike a scale where every item carries the same weight, the six Morse factors are NOT equal -- Ambulatory Aid alone can swing the total by up to 30 points, more than any other single factor, which means a patient's ambulatory-aid status has the largest single effect on the calculated score of anything the scale measures. The calculator classifies Total Morse Score into three risk bands: 0-24 = Low risk, 25-50 = Moderate risk, and above 50 = High risk, a commonly used cutoff convention for the scale (some institutions apply a slightly different cutoff, so always confirm against your facility's own Morse Fall Scale policy). Morse scoring is intended to be repeated regularly -- typically each shift, after any fall, and with any significant change in condition -- since fall risk factors like gait and mental status can change quickly during a hospital stay.