A Catch Before a Fall
A method to improve the identification and subsequent treatment of osteoporotic patients in a General Practice Environment
Mr Peter Smitham - Institute of Orthopaedics and Musculoskeletal Science, UCL
Awarded £19,500 in 2009
The prevention of osteoporotic fractures is a clinical and political priority. There have been some success stories in treating new fracture patients with bisphosphonates. However, finding and treating patients who have sustained a fracture in the past is considerably harder. This requires primary care trusts to trawl through medical records to determine if a previous fracture has occurred. This is an ineffective us of time and being retrospective relies on the data being accurate.
The Lanarkshire Osteoporosis Questionnaire showed that patients were able to recollect a previous fracture and other risk factors, but again this required a form to be sent out and time expended to process the forms on their return.
Approximately 75% of registered over 65 year olds visit their GP within a year, even if this is merely for the flu jab. The aim of this study is to see if:-
1) A touch screen PC based in a GP's waiting room would capture this data thus reducing the cost and time required to find at risk patients.
2) Patients can self report height loss and so identify missed vertebral fractures.