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As many as half of all women and a quarter of men over the age of 50 can expect to sustain a fractured bone related to osteoporosis or low bone density. To enhance prevention and treatment of these fragility fractures, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center has implemented an innovative program called Own the Bone™ developed by the American Orthopaedic Association.

"Research has shown that patients who have had a fragility fracture are four times more likely to experience another fracture than those who have never had a fracture. The Own the Bone program will help us ensure that our patients with fragility fractures are screened and appropriately treated for osteoporosis," says Dr. William Macaulay, chief of the Division of Adult Reconstruction and director of the Center for Hip and Knee Replacement at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, and the Anne Youle Stein Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Own the Bone is a national Web-based quality-improvement registry that features key measures for reducing future fractures, including nutrition counseling and education, physical activity recommendations, lifestyle coaching, pharmacology and bone density testing. The program provides physicians with immediate quantitative feedback to demonstrate how they are positively affecting patient care.

Own the Bone is one part of a comprehensive program for treating fractures and other medical issues related to osteoporosis at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. In the most recent edition of U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Hospitals," NewYork-Presbyterian is rated among the top 10 in the country for orthopedic care.

Fragility Fractures

Fragility fractures, broken bones that result from a fall from standing height or less, are most commonly caused by osteoporosis. The American Bone Health Prevalence Report states that more people in the United States suffer a fragility fracture each year than are diagnosed with a heart attack, stroke or breast cancer combined, and is projected to significantly increase as the population ages. According to the National Committee for Quality Assurance, only one in five Medicare patients have received the osteoporosis care they needed after a fracture.

For more information, patients may call 866-NYP-NEWS.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and its academic partner, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report.