RESEARCH - Osteoporosis screening and treatment for at-risk patients saves health plan $30 million

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AAOS 2009: Osteoporosis Screening and Treatment for At-Risk Patients

Saves Health Plan $30 Million

March 3, 2009 (Las Vegas, Nevada) — A preventive health program, which

identified patients at risk for osteoporosis, instituted screening,

and provided treatment for the disease, significantly reduced the

overall incidence of hip fracture by 37% over 5 years, according to a

large epidemiologic study presented here at the American Academy of

Orthopaedic Surgeons 2009 Annual Meeting.

Researchers estimated that the program, begun in 2002 for the 3

million members of Kaiser Permanente Southern California, saved the

health plan $30 million in reduced healthcare costs for osteoporotic

hip fractures, said researcher Ted Funahashi, MD, clinical professor

of orthopaedic surgery at the University of California, Irvine College

of Medicine, and regional chief of orthopaedic surgery for the

Southern California Permanente Medical Group.

" Our results indicated that screening for osteoporosis reduced the

risk of hip fracture by 82%, and intervention with medication reduced

that risk by 45%, " Dr. Funahashi said. " Our study demonstrates that a

successful osteoporosis-management program can be implemented across a

large healthcare system, " he said. Based on results from the study,

Kaiser Permanente plans to roll out the osteoporosis-management

program, called Healthy Bones, to 9 million members throughout the

country.

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Read the full article here:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/588963

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