Osteoporosis Crisis in America: New National Study Reveals Clinicians Are Failing Millions of Women After Bone Fragility Fractures

Analysis of more than 100 million insurance claims exposes a preventable epidemic: in some states, nearly 9 in 10 women who suffer a fragility fracture never receive the osteoporosis treatment they need

SAN FRANCISCO, June 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year, hundreds of thousands of American women break a wrist, crack a vertebra, or fracture a hip after a minor slip and fall. These injuries are the most urgent warning sign of osteoporosis. Yet clinicians routinely fail to heed that warning, neglect to test for and treat osteoporosis, and leave women at risk for potentially avoidable fractures in the future.

A new analysis of more than 100 million U.S. insurance claims by Motive Medical Intelligence (Motive) reveals that most women who suffer fragility fractures never receive evaluation or treatment for the osteoporosis that may have caused them, despite explicit guidelines calling for exactly that.

One in five women over age 50, and nearly one in three over age 65, have osteoporosis. Fractures caused by the disease account for $57 billion in annual U.S. healthcare costs -- a figure that does not fully capture the human toll: lost independence, chronic pain, nursing home admissions, and, in the case of hip fractures, a mortality rate that rivals many cancers.

The standard of care is well established. Both the Endocrine Society and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommend that women who suffer fragility fractures be promptly evaluated and treated for osteoporosis. The evidence is clear, the treatments are proven, and the guidelines are widely recognized.

Yet Motive's data documents a nationwide failure. The crisis is most acute in the Northeast: in Rhode Island -- the worst-performing state in the country -- 87% of women who suffered a fragility fracture received no osteoporosis treatment. The numbers were nearly as alarming in Maine (83%), Connecticut (81%), New Hampshire (79%), and New York (78%).

Even states that outperformed the rest offered little reassurance. Hawaii, the national leader, still left 55% of affected women untreated. California posted a 69% failure rate. Mountain West and Midwestern states -- including Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Iowa -- clustered around a 70% failure rate.

"These data are particularly disappointing, as we have so many proven treatments at our disposal," said Rich Klasco, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Motive. "It is our responsibility, as clinicians, to ensure that patients get the care they need."

"We always see geographic variation in clinician performance, but in a case such as this -- where there is so much opportunity for improvement -- it is essential to raise awareness among both patients and clinicians," said Julie Scherer, Ph.D., President and Chief Solutions Officer at Motive, who led the study. "This is a solvable problem."

Study Methodology
The study was conducted using Motive's Practicing Wisely clinical analytics system, which measures individual clinician performance across appropriateness of care, quality, and waste. By mapping closed-claims data to evidence-based standards of care, Motive's expert team can measure individual clinician decisions at the point of care, share actionable insights back to the clinician, and help improve clinical performance to drive real change across the U.S. health system. Practicing Wisely delivers essential visibility into how individual clinicians perform against evidence-based standards, benchmarked against their peers, enabling health plans and systems to more accurately assess risk, reduce waste, move toward quality care, and drive high-value outcomes at scale.

About Motive Medical Intelligence
Motive Medical Intelligence is redefining healthcare performance analytics with an emphasis on transparency, physician trust, and real-world actionability. Its Practicing Wisely solution is the only clinical analytic system that measures individual clinician performance for appropriateness of care, waste and quality. Motive is the partner of choice for organizations committed to eliminating low-value care and thriving in value-based care models. Through its proprietary Practicing Wisely solution, Motive is helping the industry eliminate the $400 billion in annual waste in the U.S. health system, advancing the transition to high-value, patient-centered care, and achieving the quadruple aim. Learn more here.

Media: Supreme Communications for Motive Medical Intelligence: [email protected]

SOURCE Motive Medical Intelligence