In other countries and in some medical networks in the United States, including the Kaiser Permanent System in California, there are integrated services to ensure post-fracture follow-up. In 2013, a campaign called Capture Fracture was launched by the International Te Steoporosis Foundation to ensure that “fracture fracture victims receive appropriate assessment and intervention to reduce the risk of future fractures,” but such coordinated preventive measures are rare in the United States. .
Establishing fracture contact services, as they are called, is facing a major setback in this country. There is no arrangement between the orthopedic surgeon and the practicing physician to pay the caregiver. Medicare does not cover the cost of a coordinator, said Dr. Siris. Many primary care doctors do not even know that their patients had a hip fracture. “
Given the astronomical costs of hip fracture Medicare, Dr. Kh. Khosla called the failure to cover the cost of coordinating services to prevent another fracture “penny wise and pound stupid.” (Of course, this is one of Medicare’s many financially questionable limitations. For example, its failure to cover hearing aids, the lack of which increases the risk of dementia, falls and pays for the bulk of other expensive medical problems that Medicare does.)
The Consensus Group’s 13 recommendations for preventing fractures include no tobacco use or no tobacco use, including limiting alcohol consumption to two drinks a day for men and single women, and regular exercise, including weight loss at least three times a week. Muscle strengthening and balance and posture exercises. Doctors are requested to discuss both the potential risks of medications and benefits that can help prevent fractures.
D patients. Khosla said that while taking bisphosphonates such as phosphomax can help maintain bone strength, Dr.
“When medications are used properly for three to five years, followed by medication leave, and warning signs such as foot or toothache, the benefits of treatment outweigh the risks.”
