Case scenario

Carol, a 67-year-old woman, presents to your pharmacy, tells you that she has not been very active since the coronavirus lockdown and that it’s nice to get outside the house. You screen her for osteoporosis using the Know Your Bones tool and find that she has a medium risk of fracture. You suggest she visits her GP for a formal assessment.

Learning objectives

After reading this article, pharmacists should be able to:

• Identify patients at risk of osteoporosis
• Apply a screening tool to reveal if further investigations are warranted
• Describe management options for osteoporosis
• Discuss patient-centred barriers to treatment and their management

 

Competency standards (2016) addressed: 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2

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Introduction

In 2012, 4.74 million Australians over the age of 50 years (66%) had poor bone health including more than one million with osteoporosis.1 The prevalence of osteoporosis is increasing due to Australia’s ageing population.

Over 80% of individuals presenting with fractures arising from minimal trauma (i.e. a fall from a standing height or less) are NOT followed up with appropriate testing, nor prescribed appropriate medications.1 Even when treatment is initiated the outcomes are less than optimal; observational data of Australian PBS and MBS data provide strong eviden

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