The National Bone Health Alliance Calls for Action to Improve Care for Fragility Fractures

ARLINGTON, Va., June 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The statistics on osteoporosis-related bone breaks are alarming and will only get worse as the Baby Boomer population continues aging. Currently someone in the US breaks their hip every two minutes. It costs $19 billion annually to treat fractures among seniors (a figure projected to increase to over $25 billion by the year 2025), yet the majority of patients are released without being evaluated for osteoporosis — the underlying disease which may have led to the fracture.  

In effort to reverse the current trend, the National Bone Health Alliance is joining more than 70 leading organizations from around the world in supporting a Global Call to Action to improve care for people who suffer fragility fractures. Published online by Science Direct, the Call to Action outlines transforming the surgical and medical care provided to those hospitalized with a hip fracture, spinal fracture or other major fragility fracture; efforts to prevent second and subsequent fractures following a person's first fragility fracture; and rehabilitation to restore mobility and independence for people whose ability to function is impaired after a hip or other major fragility fracture.

"It is no longer acceptable for patients to be treated for fractures and released from medical care without assessment and interventions to reduce their risk of a repeat fracture," said Susan Greenspan, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director, Osteoporosis Prevention and Treatment Center, University of Pittsburgh, NOF President and NBHA Co-Chair. "The Fragility Fracture Network's Call to Action supports NBHA's ongoing commitment to secondary fracture prevention and we're thrilled to see the international community recognizing the need to transform the treatment and rehabilitation people receive after suffering a fragility fracture."

"After suffering an osteoporotic fracture, a patient's likelihood of suffering another fracture increases three to five times, yet currently only about a quarter of patients are evaluated and treated for osteoporosis after their first fracture," said Dr. Robert Adler, Professor of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology and Community Health, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Chief, Endocrinology and Metabolism, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and NBHA Co-Chair. "With our commitment to secondary fracture prevention and the support of this Global Call to Action, we can close the current 70-80 percent care gap for testing and treating patients over age 50 who experience a fracture."

To tackle the current osteoporosis crisis, six leading organizations recently came together at an annual congress of the Fragility Fracture Network to develop the Global Call to Action on Fragility Fractures.

"Fragility fractures can devastate the quality of life of people who suffer them and are pushing our already overstretched health systems to a breaking point," said Professor Karsten E. Dreinhöfer, lead author of the publication. "As the first of the baby boomers are now into their seventies, we must take control of this problem immediately before it is too late."

The Global Call to Action illustrates that for the first time, all the leading organizations in the world have recognized the need for collaboration on an entirely new scale. The Global Call to Action proposes specific priorities for people with fragility fractures and their advocacy organizations, individual health workers, healthcare professional organizations, governmental organizations, insurers, health systems and healthcare practices, and the life sciences industry.

Recognizing that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the years 2020-2030 to be the "Decade of Healthy Aging" and later this year the United Nations (UN) will hold its Third High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases, the authors call on the WHO and UN to consider the recommendations made in the Global Call to Action as an enabler for their global initiatives.

Read more about the Global Call to Action at: www.fragilityfracturenetwork.org/CtA.

About the National Bone Health Alliance

Established in 2010, the National Bone Health Alliance is a public-private partnership that brings together the expertise and resources of various partners across a broad spectrum to promote bone health and prevent disease; improve diagnosis and treatment of bone disease; and enhance bone research, surveillance and evaluation. NBHA is a platform that allows all voices in the bone health community to work together to advance common priorities and develop projects that can become reality through pooled funding. With 55 members and liaisons representing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Institutes of Health and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, NBHA works to achieve a shared vision: to improve the overall health and quality of life of all Americans by enhancing their bone health. For more information on NBHA, visit www.nbha.org.

Contact: Debbie Zeldow
(703) 647-3008
[email protected]

SOURCE National Bone Health Alliance

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