Did you know that one-in-four patients who sustain a hip fracture die within a year? Devastatingly less than half of those who survive, regain their previous level of function.
An innovative world-first Hip Fracture Registry Toolbox has been launched today (Tuesday, June 15, 2021) to address the alarming death and disability caused by the more than 1 million hip fractures sustained in the Asia Pacific each year.
Developed by the Asia Pacific Fragility Fracture Alliance (APFFA) in collaboration with the Fragility Fracture Network (FFN), the practical and informative resource explains the fundamental need, and how to best advocate for, the establishment of a national hip fracture registry.
Tailored to clinicians, hospital administrators, healthcare systems and governments alike, the Toolbox covers topics, including stakeholder engagement and consolidation, building a case for change, planning and funding a registry, to setting up a pilot registry, and navigating governance and ethics approval. Examples of current registries and other useful resources also feature in the Toolbox.
According to Consultant Ortho-Geriatrician, Clinical Director of the Falls,
Balance and Injury Research Centre at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), and APFFA Hip Fracture Registry Working Group Co-Chair, Professor Jacqui Close, Australia, widescale implementation of hip fracture registries worldwide, can facilitate vast improvements in care for the millions of people who sustain a hip fracture each year.
“Hospitals can utilise hip fracture registries to benchmark their provision
of care against best practice clinical standards for acute care, rehabilitation, and secondary fracture prevention.
“Furthermore, hip fracture registries can transform patient-level data into
information that both equips and empowers hospital teams to identify, and
develop solutions for key challenges within their respective institutions, and to strive for ongoing improvement in care,” said Prof Close.
By 2050, one in four people in APAC will be aged over 60. This portion of
the population is expected to triple between 2010 and 2050, reaching close to 1.3 billion people. Within the same timeframe, between 4.5 to 6.3 million hip fractures are predicted to occur worldwide, half of which will occur in Asia.
Given the exponential increase in both the incidence and costs associated
with hip fractures to date, and those anticipated globally, hip fracture registries serve as a vital tool underpinning quality improvement initiatives in the Asia Pacific region, and globally, argues Consultant Geriatrician and Medical Director, Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group, and APFFA Hip Fracture Registry Working Group Co-Chair, Dr Hannah Seymour, Australia.
“As of April 2021, 18 countries across Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America
and North America had established a hip fracture registry, at different stages of maturation, participation and development. Notably, only three registries are currently operating in the Asia Pacific.
“The Hip Fracture Registry Toolbox explains how timely, reliable and
constructive feedback to clinical teams, coupled with the engagement and
participation of key stakeholders, improves the impact of hip fracture
registries,” Dr Seymour said.
With adequate operational efficiency and funding, registries can
improve healthcare, and are likely to prove significantly cost-effective.
Registries can contribute to government initiatives designed to
manage rapidly aging populations, and can further help governments to promote the equitable provision of care.
To learn more about APFFA and the Hip Fracture Registry Toolbox,
head to www.apfracturealliance.org/HFR-toolbox/