Osteoporosis: Increasing Screening and Treatment for Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

Postmenopausal women are at risk for osteoporosis, a skeletal loss of integrity, which predisposes them to increased fall rates and both primary and secondary skeletal fractures. The risk and cost of osteoporotic fractures is greater than the risks of strokes, myocardial infarction, and breast cancer combined. With the baby boomer population reaching postmenopausal ages, the burden of care and cost will likely become prohibitive if the current rates of screening and treatment continue. Nurse practitioners are at the forefront of the primary prevention of osteoporotic fractures, in addition to having the skill and education to manage the osteoporotic patient.