Development, implementation and evaluation of a multinational FLS mentorship programme in Latin America.

Realising the benefits of systematic secondary fracture prevention requires supporting local sites to get started and becoming effective. We here describe the development, implementation and impact of a regional fracture liaison service (FLS) mentorship programme in Latin America that led to 64 FLS getting started and coverage of 17,205 patients. INTRODUCTION: Despite treatments and service models to deliver effective secondary fracture prevention, most patients are left untreated after a fragility fracture. To improve the capability to get FLS started and more effective, we describe the development, implementation and evaluation of an international programme to develop national communities of FLS mentors as part of the Capture the Fracture Partnership in Latin America. METHODS: The IOF regional team and the University of Oxford developed the curriculum and associated resources for training mentors in setting up FLS, service improvement and mentorship. Mentors were selected during a preparatory meeting, trained using live online sessions followed by regular mentor-led post-training meetings. The programme was evaluated using a pre-training needs assessment and post-training evaluation based on Moore's outcomes. RESULTS: The mentorship programme was initiated in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina. The mentors were multidisciplinary, including orthopaedic surgery, rehabilitation, rheumatology, endocrinology, geriatrics, gynaecology and internal medicine. There was 100% participation in training sessions and reported satisfaction with the training. Since the initiation of the training programme, 22 FLS have been set up in Mexico, 30 in Brazil, 3 in Colombia and 9 in Argentina, in comparison with two in Chile and none in any other LATAM countries that were not involved in the mentorship programme. This equates to approximately 17,025 additional patients identified from 2019 to 2021 after initiation of mentorship. The mentors have engaged with 58 FLS for service development. Post-training activities include two published national best practice guidelines and other country-specific resources for FLS in the local language. CONCLUSION: Despite the COVID pandemic, the mentorship pillar of the Capture the Fracture Partnership has developed a community of FLS mentors with measurable improvement in national FLS provision. The programme is a potentially scalable platform to develop communities of mentors in other countries.

Benefits of fracture liaison services (FLS) in four Latin American countries: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina.

AIMS: Fracture liaison services (FLS) use a multidisciplinary approach to treat patients who have experienced an osteoporotic fracture to reduce the risk of subsequent fractures. To date, there has been minimal FLS implementation in Latin America where fractures continue to be undertreated. This study aims to estimate the number of fractures averted, bed days avoided, and costs saved resulting from universal FLS implementation in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A calculator was developed to estimate the annual benefits of FLS programs in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina from a public hospital perspective. It was assumed all patients with a hip, vertebral, or wrist fracture were referred to an FLS program. Country-specific data were obtained from a previous systematic review and interviews with osteoporosis experts. Hospitalization and post-hospitalization costs were expressed in 2019 USD without discounting. Costs of FLS implementation were not considered. RESULTS: In 2019, the number of FLS patients prevented from having a subsequent hip, vertebral, or wrist fracture was estimated as 15,607 in Brazil, 8,168 in Mexico, 5,190 in Argentina, and 2,435 in Colombia with total bed days saved of 142,378 in Brazil, 75,877 in Mexico, 52,301 in Argentina, and 21,725 in Colombia. The annual cost savings in 2019 were highest in Argentina (28.1 million USD), followed by Mexico (19.6 million USD), Brazil (7.64 million USD) and Colombia (3.04 million USD). Over five years (2019-2023) the cumulative cost savings were 145 million USD in Argentina, 106 million USD in Mexico, 40.5 million USD in Brazil, and 16.1 million USD in Colombia. CONCLUSION: Universal FLS implementation in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina was predicted to prevent 31,400 fractures, avoid 292,281 bed days, and save 58.4 million USD in 2019, though caution is warranted in the interpretation of these results due to high uncertainty. Increased implementation of FLS programs in Latin American countries may help to realize these benefits.

Servicio de enlace para pacientes con fracturas por osteoporosis / Osteoporotic fracture liaison service

Los pacientes con fracturas por fragilidad presentan elevadas tasas de morbimortalidad, lo que implica además un alto costo para el erario público. Luego de una fractura por osteoporosis, la mayoría de los pacientes no recibe una adecuada evaluación y tratamiento. Para suplir este vacío de atención médica se crearon distintas políticas; la mejor de ellas son los Servicios de Enlace de Pacientes con Fracturas (Fracture Liaison Service, en inglés). Estos programas tienen una vigencia internacional de más de diez años y son patrocinados por organismos internacionales. La finalidad de estos servicios es la prevención secundaria de fracturas. La modalidad de trabajo tiene como objetivo facilitar y asegurar la rápida identificación, el diagnóstico y la terapéutica de esta población en diferentes contextos asistenciales. La experiencia internacional demuestra que estos servicios son exitosos pues logran incrementar el inicio y la adherencia al tratamiento, disminuir las tasas de mortalidad, de morbilidad y de nuevas fracturas, y son costo-efectivos. En nuestro medio, el inicio de los Servicios de Enlace es reciente. El propósito de esta actualización es realizar una revisión de los fundamentos, características, modalidad operativa y los logros obtenidos por dichos programas. Las fracturas por fragilidad ósea constituyen un problema importante para la salud pública. Esta presentación tiene como objetivo alertar y motivar a la comunidad médica a intervenir de manera sistemática y dinámica para mejorar el cuidado habitual en esta población de pacientes. (AU)

Fragility fractures are associated with increased morbidity and mortality rates and higher costs. After a fracture, most patients do not receive adequate assessment and treatment. To fill this gap in medical care, different policies have been created; the best of them being the Fracture Liaison Services. These programs have been in place for over ten years worldwide and are sponsored by international organisms and societies. The purpose of the Fracture Liaison Services is secondary fracture prevention. Their goal is to ensure the rapid identification, diagnosis and treatment of this population in different clinical contexts. They increase treatment adherence and decrease mortality and morbidity rates and the incidence of new fractures. International experience shows that these services are successful and costeffective. (AU)

A global call to action to improve the care of people with fragility fractures.

The ageing of society is driving an enormous increase in fragility fracture incidence and imposing a massive burden on patients, their families, health systems and societies globally. Disrupting the status quo has therefore become an obligation and a necessity. Initiated by the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN) at a "Presidents' Roundtable" during the 5th FFN Global Congress in 2016 several leading organisations agreed that a global multidisciplinary and multiprofessional collaboration, resulting in a Global Call to Action (CtA), would be the right step forward to improve the care of people presenting with fragility fractures. So far global and regional organisations in geriatrics/internal medicine, orthopaedics, osteoporosis/metabolic bone disease, rehabilitation and rheumatology were contacted as well as national organisations in five highly populated countries (Brazil, China, India, Japan and the United States), resulting in 81societies endorsing the CtA. We call for implementation of a systematic approach to fragility fracture care with the goal of restoring function and preventing subsequent fractures without further delay. There is an urgent need to improve: To address this fragility fracture crisis, the undersigned organisations pledge to intensify their efforts to improve the current management of all fragility fractures, prevent subsequent fractures, and strive to restore functional abilities and quality of life.