| Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |||
| NEWSRoom | |||
| 11/05/2009 | |||
| Source: American Orthopaedic Association | |||
"Own the Bone" Aims to Treat Whole Patient, Prevent Future Fragility Fractures |
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Rate It! A new online quality improvement program that stresses a multidisciplinary approach to patient care after a fragility fracture, promotes better bone health and helps reduce the risk of future fragility fractures has now been implemented at 14 hospitals nationwide. Own the Bone, developed by the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), addresses the alarmingly low screening and treatment rates for both low bone mass and osteoporosis for patients age 50 and over after a fragility fracture. According to estimated figures, osteoporosis was responsible for more than two million fractures in 2005 with an estimated $19 billion in costs. With fracture rates expected to increase to three million annually by 2025, resulting in costs of more than $25 billion, the problem is urgent. Yet, as few as 18% of patients over the age of 65 receive recommended osteoporosis care following a fracture. "We want to make it easy for hospitals, clinics and all bone health providers to implement current recommendations for post-fracture screening and treatment," said Marc F. Swiontkowski, MD, orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Minnesota and contributor to Own the Bone. "We're gratified to see leading hospitals and clinics getting on board to help address this pressing need." "We hope many more institutions will subscribe," added Lawrence G. Raisz, MD, of the University of Connecticut Health Center and scientific editor of the 2004 US Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis. "Own the Bone provides tools to put the Surgeon General's recommendations on bone health to action and address this growing public health problem." Own the Bone includes the following measures: •Nutrition counseling, including calcium and vitamin D; •Physical activity counseling, including weight-bearing and muscle strengthening exercises and fall prevention education; •Lifestyle counseling, including smoking cessation and limiting excessive alcohol intake; •Pharmacology for the treatment of osteoporosis, if required; •Diagnostic testing to measure bone density (DXA); •Written communication to both the patient and his/her physician detailing the patient’s risk factors and recommended steps to future fracture prevention. With Own the Bone’s multidisciplinary approach to care, hospitals and clinics can positively impact fragility fracture rates, save patients the pain and costs that result from fractures and bone disease, help reduce their own liability for "failure to diagnose," and gain goodwill from patients and communities. For more information on Own the Bone, visit www.ownthebone.org. Founded in 1887, the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) is the oldest orthopaedic association in the world. Membership in the AOA is achieved by those who have made a significant contribution to education, research, and the practice of orthopaedic surgery. Currently, the AOA has over 1,500 members. At its core are the ideals of its mission: “To identify, develop, engage, and recognize leadership to further the art and science of orthopaedics.” |
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