By 2022, there will be one minimal trauma fracture every 2.9 minutes in Australia. This equates to 498 fractures per day and 3,485 fractures per week. This compares to one fracture every 8.1 minutes in 2001 and one fracture every 5-6 minutes in 2007.
Up to 50 per cent of patients sustaining a minimal trauma fracture will have a second fracture within two years if their bone health is not managed appropriately.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is encouraging early and aggressive management of patients over 50 years of age who have endured a minimal trauma fracture. Click here to view the latest guidelines.
The Mid North Coast has offered the Fracture Prevention Clinic at Coffs Harbour Health Campus since 2012, and the Osteoporosis Clinic at Port Macquarie Base Hospital since early 2019. These clinics are focused on the early identification of minimal trauma fractures from emergency department presentations, and will communicate with patients and GPs to facilitate investigation and appropriate treatment.
The medical leads for these clinics are Dr Andrew Milne, Consultant Physician and Geriatrician at Coffs Harbour, and Rheumatologist Dr Emma Mitchell at Port Macquarie. Clinics are coordinated by fracture liaison coordinators and physiotherapists Sandy Fraser in Coffs Harbour and Phil Rudd in Port Macquarie.
These clinics primarily target patients who have sustained a minimal trauma fracture, and also accept referrals from GPs for patients with low bone density who have not sustained a fracture, to try to prevent the first fracture. As well as medical review, the clinics offer bone health education, strength-focused exercise programs, falls prevention strategies, and dietary advice for optimum bone health.
Patients attending the clinics with a medical referral are Medicare funded and bulk billed.
For more information about fracture prevention services in your area, contact:
- Coffs Harbour
[email protected] - Port Macquarie
[email protected]
Or take a look at the HealthPathway for Osteoporosis and Refracture Prevention Assessment.
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