Just half (49 per cent) of patients with a hip fracture are leaving hospital on calcium and/or vitamin D – despite osteoporosis being widely linked to hip fractures in older people – according to the latest report from the Australian and New Zealand Hip Fracture Registry (ANZHFR) at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA).
Their report, which looked at 9,408 patients records from 118 hospitals across Australia and New Zealand, also showed only one-quarter (24 per cent) of hospitals are providing patients with information on how to prevent future falls and fractures.
We’re well behind the UK where most hip fracture patients go home with medication for osteoporosis and are referred on for follow-up treatment – and the report’s co-author Professor Jacqueline Close, a geriatrician and Co-Chair of the ANZHFR, says that our hospitals are missing the opportunity to identify those who are at risk.
Treating those at risk before they end up in hospital
The average age of hip fractures is now 84, with almost 70 per cent women.
But around half of these patients – one in four men and two in five women aged 50 and over – will have had a minimal trauma fracture, such as breaking their wrist, beforehand.
As we discussed here, there are medications that can cut your risk of further fractures by up to 50 per cent.
Prof. Close adds that taking a Vitamin D supplement is one of the best ways to prevent hip fractures and falls – including for people in aged care, and she recommends all aged care residents take it.
With Australia expected to have over 30,000 hip fractures a year by 2022, it’s worth seeing your GP if you have had a fracture or are concerned about your bone health.
NeuRA has published a Hip Fracture Care Guide for patients, their families and carers with five key questions to ask your GP about osteoporosis which you can download here.
They’ve also created a series of free videos on preventing falls and hip fracture care that you can watch here.
