Tridsanu Thopet / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Nov. 3–8, experts discussed improving bone health in the U.S., gave tips on bone health disorders in pediatrics and reviewed new translational science findings for joint conservation in early osteonecrosis.
E. Michael Lewiecki, MD, director of the New Mexico Clinical Research & Osteoporosis Center in Albuquerque, N.M., called on physicians to help improve osteoporosis care, which has declined over the past several years due factors that include fear of drug side effects, dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) reimbursement declines and competing guidelines.
After more than 10 years of dropping hip fracture rates, the rate has plateaued over the past several years, leading to a sizable gap between the actual and projected numbers of 14,000 additional hip fractures and 2,800 additional deaths that could be attributed to fractures, all of which might have been prevented, Dr. Lewiecki said.