More than 50 percent of the world’s hip fractures are expected to occur in the Asia Pacific by the year 2050. In a strong effort to stem the tide, and to promote quality care in osteoporosis, the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) has launched a world-first, interactive, educational osteoporosis resource – the APCO Health Care Professional (HCP) Peer to Peer Educational Modules on Oct 20th, to mark World Osteoporosis Day.

Despite these alarming statistics, of osteoporosis, more than 80 percent of fragility fracture patients are neither assessed nor treated, placing a substantial. Asai-Pacific requires minimum clinical standards for the assessment and management of osteoporosis to inform clinical practice guidelines and improve osteoporosis care.

APCO has launched ‘The APCO Framework’  in January 2021. ‘The Framework’ comprises 16 minimum clinical standards that serve as a benchmark for the provision of best practice osteoporosis care in the Asia Pacific.

The APCO HCP Peer to Peer Education Modules will offer physicians a comprehensive, evidence-based resource encouraging the widescale implementation of the minimum clinical standards of care for osteoporosis advocated in The APCO Framework. This will enable the delivery of best practice osteoporosis care throughout the Asia Pacific – the world’s fastest aging region.  

APCO Chairperson, and Director of the Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism Unit, Singapore General Hospital, Dr Manju Chandran said, “It is to address this care gap, that APCO has developed an interactive, 17-module educational series, to arm osteoporosis champions in the Asia Pacific, with information, supporting data, topical literature summaries, and best practice examples that support and emphasise each of The APCO Framework’s 16 minimum clinical standards and emerging themes in osteoporosis care.

“Increasing awareness and education among healthcare professionals in the Asia Pacific is imperative to bringing change to the real-world clinical practice of osteoporosis care and fracture prevention,” said Dr Chandran.

“These coordinated systems of care aim to identify, treat and monitor patients presenting with a fragility fracture. Intervention can reduce fractures by up to 50 percent, deliver substantial financial savings, and ultimately, save lives,” said Dr Philippe Halbout, IOF Chief Executive Officer, and APCO Executive Committee member, Switzerland.