Evaluation of a Nationwide Pharmacist-Led Phone Outreach Program to Improve Osteoporosis Management in Older Women with Recently Sustained Fractures

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis-related fractures are a considerable economic burden on the U.S. health care system. Since 2008, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have adopted a Medicare Part C Five-Star Quality Rating measure to ensure that a woman’s previously unaddressed osteoporosis is managed appropriately after a fracture. Despite the effort to improve this gap in care, the 2013 CMS plan ratings fact sheet reported an average star rating of 1.4 stars for the osteoporosis measure, the lowest score for any measure across all health plans. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of conducting a pharmacist-led, telephone outreach program to members or their providers to improve osteoporosis management in elderly women after experiencing fractures. METHODS: This was a prospective, randomized study to evaluate the effectiveness of 3 different intervention strategies within a nationwide managed care population. Women aged 66 years and older who experienced a new bone fracture between January 1, 2012-August 3...