A survey shows that 72% of GPs believe including osteoporosis on the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) would lead to improvements in osteoporosis services in the UK.
Some three-quarters of GPs who responded to the survey felt that correctly identifying first osteoporotic fractures could help avoid painful and debilitating secondary fractures.
One in three women will suffer a fracture due to osteoporosis in her lifetime, and once a patient experiences a fracture they are three times more likely to experience another.
Dr Alun Cooper, an expert in osteoporosis, said: “There are around three million people in the UK who have or are at high risk of osteoporosis but are receiving suboptimal care, despite national guidance on prevention.”
Dr Cooper added: “A systematic, incentive and driven approach through inclusion of osteoporosis on the QOF is the only way to improve the diagnosis and treatment of our patients who are at risk of fragility fractures.”
