National Osteoporosis Foundation Launches First Fracture Prevention Initiative To Spark Nationwide System for Coordinated Patient Care

Fracture Liaison Service Programs are the Solution to Reducing the Two Million Bone Breaks Caused by Osteoporosis Each Year.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) today announced a comprehensive Fracture Prevention Initiative in partnership with the National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA). Their goal is to provide a broad-based, best-practice model-of-care to reduce the nearly 80 percent post-fracture care gap.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130418/DC97067LOGO)

Currently in the U.S., after breaking a bone, only 23% of women age 67+ are tested or treated for osteoporosis.  According to NOF, this lack of commitment to fracture prevention is a major failing of the U.S. healthcare system and leads to increased health care expenditures, morbidity and mortality. The number of bone breaks per year caused by osteoporosis exceeds the incidence of heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined.

Health systems abroad and select health care providers in the U.S. have created programs to identify patients after a fracture and ensure appropriate management through a Fracture Liaison Service (FLS).

"Osteoporosis and low bone mass put an estimated 52 million Americans over the age of 50 at risk for broken bones," said Robert Recker, M.D., president of the National Osteoporosis Foundation. "Osteoporosis is responsible for an estimated two million broken bones per year and we know that, if left untreated, patients who break a bone are twice as likely to break another bone in the future."

NOF's annual meeting, the Interdisciplinary Symposium on Osteoporosis (ISO) 2014, taking place in New Orleans from April 23-26, 2014,will feature the addition of a new curriculum to help healthcare professionals implement an FLS program, a systematic approach to secondary fracture prevention. NOF's Fracture Prevention Initiative also includes a webinar series and accompanying educational materials for healthcare professionals and consumers.

"There is a critical need for effective post-fracture prevention and care coordination programs in the U.S.," said Amy Porter, executive director and CEO of NOF. "Our comprehensive Fracture Prevention Initiative will provide online and in-person tools and resources for healthcare professionals and patients with the goal of preventing repeat fractures and improving bone health in America."

NOF's annual ISO meeting will offer a new pre-conference symposium covering FLS basics, database issues and practice concerns. A hands-on skill-building workshop and 13 plenaries and sessions are also included in the meeting's FLS track. Participants who complete the entire track will receive a Certificate of Completion from NOF and acquire skills to address the most important business and structural challenges to improving patient outcomes through coordinated care programs.

This comprehensive FLS curriculum is designed to help doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, registered nurses and other healthcare professionals navigate the complicated coordination of care across hospitals, medical offices and multiple medical specialties in the community to ensure that fracture patients receive appropriate osteoporosis testing, diagnosis, treatment and ongoing support after they leave the hospital.

Additionally, NOF is the educational partner in a recently announced FLS demonstration study funded by Merck and Co., which will pilot new quality improvement and care coordination tools at three academic medical centers. The purpose of the FLS demonstration study is to test the effectiveness of scaling fracture prevention strategies to improve osteoporosis and post-fracture care across communities. Other partners in the initiative include NBHA and CECity.

"Working in partnership with like-minded organizations and experts, we can and will spare millions of Americans the pain and suffering of broken bones and improve their quality of life," said Ms. Porter.

About the National Osteoporosis Foundation 
Established in 1984, the National Osteoporosis Foundation is the nation's leading bone health organization dedicated to preventing osteoporosis and broken bones, promoting strong bones for life and reducing human suffering through programs of awareness, education, advocacy and research. For more information on the National Osteoporosis Foundation, visit www.nof.org. For more information about the FLS Demonstration Study please visit http://nof.org/news/1774.

NOF has been resurveyed by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and awarded Accreditation with Commendation as a provider of continuing medical education for physicians and is a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

About the National Bone Health Alliance
Established in late 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 around shared priorities and develop projects that can become reality through pooled funding. The 51 members of the Alliance (in addition to 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) are working from 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.

About CECity®
Pittsburgh, PA-based CECity (www.cecity.com) is the health care industry's leading cloud-based provider of social enterprise platforms and distribution networks that address the "3 Ps" driven by healthcare reform: Performance Improvement, Pay for Value Reporting and Professional Certification. Leading organizations across healthcare, including hospitals, physician practices, payers, ACOs, IDNs, chain pharmacy, medical specialty boards and societies, count on CECity to power their high stakes initiatives. CECity customers represent the stewards of healthcare.

Contact:
Claire Gill
NOF
202.721.6341
[email protected]

SOURCE National Osteoporosis Foundation