Upcoming Own the Bone Events
Spring and Summer 2017 are busy seasons for Own the Bone, the American Orthopaedic Association’s national post-fracture, systems-based, multidisciplinary fragility fracture prevention initiative:
Webinar: Components of a Secondary Fracture Prevention Program – May 4
On Thursday, May 4, at 5:00pm CDT (6:00pm EDT) Paul A. Anderson, MD, FAOA, from the University of Wisconsin, and Karen Cummings, PA-C, from the University of Michigan, will discuss the components of a successful secondary fracture prevention program.
Join the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON) and The American Orthopaedic Association for this full-day event on Friday, June 23. Attendees will receive a Fragility Fracture Symposium Certificate of Completion and continuing education credit.
Fragility Fracture Workshop at PAOS Annual Conference – August 21, Baltimore, MD
Join Physician Assistants in Orthopaedic Surgery (PAOS) and Own the Bone for a full-day fragility fracture and bone health workshop on the first day of the PAOS Annual Conference, Monday, August 21, in Baltimore.
Own the Bone Webinar: Atypical Fractures and Osteo Medications
On Thursday, February 23, 2017, at 6:00 pm EST, the Own the Bone initiative will offer a webinar titled “Atypical Fractures and Osteoporosis Medication Considerations”
James Goulet, MD, from the University of Michigan, will discuss atypical fractures and other rare outcomes of the use of osteoporosis medication, including what to look for and how to treat these occurrences. He will also address drug holidays, and how and when to continue treatment on these complex cases.
The American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) developed Own the Bone as a quality improvement program to address the osteoporosis treatment gap and prevent subsequent fragility fractures.
0.75 hour of CME credit is available.
Guest Post: Own the Bone Improves Osteoporosis Care
OrthoBuzz occasionally receives posts from guest bloggers. This guest post comes from Brett A. Freedman, MD.
In the December 21, 2016 edition of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, Bunta, et al. published an analysis of data from the Own the Bone quality improvement program collected between January 1, 2010 and March 31, 2015. Over this period of time, 125 sites prospectively collected detailed osteoporosis and bone health-related data points on men and women over the age of 50 who presented with a fragility fracture.
The Own the Bone initiative is more than a data registry; it’s a quality improvement program intended to provide a paradigm for increasing the diagnostic and therapeutic recognition (i.e. “response rate”) of the osteoporosis underlying fragility fractures among orthopaedic practices that treat these injuries. With more than 23,000 individual patients enrolled, and almost 10,000 follow-up records, this is the most robust dataset in existence on the topic.
This initiative has more than doubled the response rate among orthopaedic practices treating fragility fractures. The number of institutions implementing Own the Bone grew from 14 sites in 2005-6 to 177 in 2015. According to Bunta et al., 53% of patients enrolled in the Own the Bone quality Improvement program received bone mineral density testing and/or osteoporosis therapy following their fracture.
Own the Bone was a natural progression of rudimentary efforts that came about during the Bone and Joint Decade, and it marks a strategic effort on the part of the American Orthopedic Association to identify and treat the osteoporosis underlying fragility fractures. Multiple studies have demonstrated that only 1 out of every 4 to 5 patients who present with a fragility fracture will receive a clinical diagnosis of osteoporosis and/or active treatment to prevent secondary fractures related to osteoporosis. Ample Level-1 evidence demonstrates that the initiation of first-line agents like bisphosphonates, or second-line agents when indicated, can reduce the chance of a subsequent fragility fracture by at least 50%. We know these medicines work.
We also know that osteoporosis is a progressive phenomenon. Therefore, failing to respond to the osteoporosis underlying fragility fractures means we as a medical system fail to treat the root cause in these patients. The fracture is a symptom of an underlying disease that needs to be addressed or it will continue to produce recurrent fractures and progressive decline in overall health.
The members of the Own the Bone initiative must be commended for their admirable work. We as an orthopedic community need to attempt to incorporate lessons learned through the Own the Bone experience into our practice to ensure that we provide complete care to those with a fragility fracture. The report from Bunta et al. represents a large—but single—step forward on the journey toward universal recognition and treatment of the diminished bone quality underlying fragility fractures. I look forward to additional reports from this group detailing their continued success in raising the bar of understanding and intervention.
Brett A. Freedman, MD is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in spine trauma and degenerative spinal diseases at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Vitamin D Controversy Is Focus of Free Webinar
On Thursday, December 10, 2015, from 6:00 to 6:30pm EDT, the Own the Bone initiative will offer a free webinar titled “Vitamin D in Chaos: A Common Sense Approach for Orthopaedics.”
Neil C. Binkley, MD, from the University of Wisconsin will review the physiology of vitamin D, current approaches to 25(OH)D testing, and recommendations for treatment of those whose levels are low. Defining “low” vitamin D status remains extremely controversial, but many fracture patients have vitamin D inadequacy that may contribute to low bone mass and fragility fracture risk.
The American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) developed Own the Bone as a quality improvement program to address the osteoporosis treatment gap and prevent subsequent fragility fractures.
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