Commissioning, implementation and delivery of an interface secondary fracture prevention service within the NHS: Lessons learnt from the Oxfordshire Fracture Prevention Service

Aims: To provide a case history of the service model, commissioning, implementation and delivery of an interface secondary fracture prevention service.

Background: Fracture Prevention has been identified as key to reducing the burden on the NHS from an ageing population. The need to have a systematic process for identifying, assessing and ensuring treatment adherence is vital.

Rationale: Delivering the service to identify patients at risk and initiate treatment is important as is the use of a database for patient tracking and the need to ensure that patients remain on treatment to ensure maximum fracture prevention benefit, and cost savings are seen. The process for implementing a Fracture Prevention service can be challenging but identifying the components and working closely with local commissioners can provide the evidence and release the resource required.

Summary: The key components of a Fracture Prevention Service should include robust case-finding, assessment, treatment initiation, patient education and monitoring.