Using electronic medical records to assess the rate of treatment for osteoporosis in Australia

• Published in: Australian family physician Vol. 46; no. 7; pp. 508 - 512
• Main Authors: Elliott-Rudder, Megan, Harding, Catherine, McGirr, Joseph, Seal, Alexa, Pilotto, Louis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Australia Copyright Agency Limited (Distributor) 01.07.2017
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Audits; Australia; Bone Density Conservation Agents - pharmacology; Bone Density Conservation Agents - therapeutic use; Clinical Audit - methods; Data processing; Diagnosis; Electronic Health Records; Female; Gender; Health care access; Health risk assessment; Humans; Male; Medical diagnosis; Medical records; Medical screening; Medicare; Methodology; Older people; Osteoporosis; Osteoporosis - diagnosis; Osteoporosis - drug therapy; Osteoporosis - epidemiology; Prevalence; Primary care; Public health; Quantitative analysis; Retrospective Studies; Sex Factors; Treatment; Womens health; Australia; New South Wales Australia
• ISSN: 0300-8495; 2208-7958

Background and objectives: Despite available Medicare Benefits Schedule subsidies, it has been suggested that screening and treatment for osteoporosisare under-accessed in Australia, particularly in patients >=70years. This study describes the rate of osteoporosis treatment in those aged >=70 years in regional New South Wales as identified in the electronic medical records (EMR) of 11 general practices. Methods: EMR data were extracted using a Canning Tool adaptation. The prevalence of osteoporosis, fracture and bone-active medication prescriptions were described, and associations examined. Results: Osteoporosis was identified in 728 patients (20.9%) - 28.6%females and 9.4% males - with 70.6% of these patients prescribed active medication. Diagnosis increased with fracture history (odds ratio [OR]: 6.65; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.22,8.47), female gender (OR: 3.38; 95% CI: 2.73, 4.16) and each year older (OR: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.05). Treatment was negatively associated with patients aged >=90 years versus patients aged70-79 years (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3, 0.9). Discussion: This study suggests that treatment for osteoporosis is suboptimal. The use of EMR data could be used for audit or monitoring of interventions in general practice.