More than 50 per cent of the world's hip fractures are expected to occur in the Asia Pacific over the next two decades. This is due to the region's rapidly ageing population, mounting urbanisation, and subsequent increase in sedentary lifestyles.

In an effort to stem this health crisis, the Asia Pacific Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) has launched a Bone Health QI Tool Kit for healthcare professionals to promote quality improvement of osteoporosis care. 

The APCO Bone Health QI Tool Kit is based on seven selected standards from The APCO Framework that apply to the clinical setting. Implementation of the QI will be through iterative Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles. 

"Once the audits are completed, healthcare professionals (HCPs) and medical centres can commence implementing changes to their clinical practice. APCO is in the process of engaging QI experts to help train APCO members to perform such projects in their individual medical centres and practices," said Dr Manju Chandran, APCO Chairperson and Director of the Osteoporosis and Bone Metabolism Unit, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. 

This world-first tool kit, encompassing multiple components in the screening, diagnosis, and management of osteoporosis, will help to promote multi-sector healthcare professional engagement and cooperation, to address this looming healthcare catastrophe. 

Osteoporosis is greatly under-diagnosed, and under-treated in Asia, even among those at highest risk who have already fractured. The Asia Pacific (APAC) is home to 4.5 billion people and vastly different healthcare systems.