Osteoporosis Case Finding in Primary Care

This article is written to help GP practices set up appropriate protocols for the assessment of patients with possible osteoporosis, and to facilitate keeping keep up-to-date records. See related article on Osteoporosis.

Ideally the practice should be able to identify:

• All patients with confirmed osteoporosis.
• All patients (at least those over 65 years of age) with fragility fractures (due to a low energy event e.g. fall from standing height or less; rib fracture due to sneezing or coughing),¹ particularly fractures of femur/pelvis, humerus, wrist (Colles' or Smith's) and vertebral wedge fractures.
• All patients who have had an osteoporosis risk assessment (either opportunistically, by case finding e.g. fragility fracture, or as part of other chronic disease management).
• Any patients who have had a DEXA scan (and those patients with osteoporosis who have had such a scan confirming osteoporosis).
• Patients who are on appropriate pharmacological secondary prevention of osteoporosis (by searching patient repeat medications).

1. All patients who have (or have had) a fracture of hip/femur/pelvis, wrist, humerus and wedge fracture of spine - need both the fracture and whether it was a fragility fracture to be coded, either at the time of data entry or when notes are summarised (code both using the date the fracture was sustained).
2. All patients who have an osteoporosis risk assessment are coded with "Osteoporosis risk assessment done" (9OdA.), refused (9Odb.), or defaulted (9OdC.). If the FRAX™ score is used the 10 year risk can be appended. (using 38DB. FRAX 10 year hip fracture probability score and/or 38DC. FRAX osteoporotic fracture probability score).²
3. All requests for DEXA scans, and the results of such scans need to be coded (assigning the patient with the diagnosis of osteoporosis when appropriate).
4. All patients with confirmed osteoporosis, or "at risk of osteoporosis" need to be offered appropriate pharmacological secondary prevention of osteoporosis (record the discussion, and ideally whether it was declined or accepted).

Possible Usable Read Codes

Whenever a fracture is recorded (e.g. fractured neck of femur), also code "Fragility fracture" (N331N) using same date as fracture, or "History of fragility fracture" (14G6.) during the consultation where the information is elicited.

Risk factor recording:

• When patients are considered to have an independent clinical risk factor for fracture code "At risk of osteoporotic fracture" (14OD.) Such factors are parental history of hip fracture, alcohol intake of 4 or more units per day, and rheumatoid arthritis.
• When patients are considered to have indicators of low BMD - code "At risk of osteoporosis" (14O9.) Such indicators are low body mass index (defined as less than 22 kg/m2), long-term corticosteroid use, medical conditions such as ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, or conditions that result in prolonged immobility, and untreated premature menopause (before age 40).

When osteoporosis is assumed (fragility fracture without DEXA scan in patient over 75) use "N331M Fragility fracture due to unspecified osteoporosis".

When osteoporosis is diagnosed by DEXA scan etc., add diagnostic Read code "N330. Osteoporosis" to the record, (or one of its more detailed children: N3301 Senile Osteoporosis; N3302 Postmenopausal Osteoporosis; N3303 Idiopathic osteoporosis, N330D Osteoporosis due to corticosteroids) using date of diagnosis.
As well as using the diagnostic codes above, add the following codes as appropriate (use date of scan):

• Hip DEXA scan result osteoporotic (58EG.)
• Hip DEXA scan result osteopenic (58EB.)
• Hip DEXA scan result normal (58EF.)
• Hip DEXA scan T score (58EE.) record actual value
• Lumbar DEXA scan result osteoporotic (58EM.)
• Lumbar DEXA scan result osteopenic (58EH.)
• Lumbar DEXA scan result normal (58EL.)
• Lumbar DEXA scan T score (58EK.) record actual value

Other codes are available for heel and forearm scans if required.

When osteoporosis is discussed with the patient add code "Health Education - osteoporosis" (679F.). The following administration codes may be helpful in a template: "Osteoporosis treatment started" (66a2.), "Osteoporosis treatment stopped" (66a3.) and "Osteoporosis treatment changed" (66a4.).

The GP osteoporosis directed enhanced service (DES) requires the following:³

• Proportion of women aged 65-74 with history of fragility fracture in previous 12 months who have had diagnosis of osteoporosis confirmed with a DEXA scan (target standard initially 50%, rising to 60% in 2009/10).
• Proportion of these woman (aged 65-74) who are receiving treatment with a bone sparing agent (target standard 90%).
• Proportion of women aged 75 or over with fragility fracture in last 12 months on a bone sparing agent (target standard 90%).

If the NICE audit is proposed:⁴

• Criterion 1: Percentage of patients offered evidence-based written information about their illness or condition and the treatment and care they are going to receive (standard 100%) - use code "Health Education - osteoporosis" (679F.), and record which information leaflet given in consultation record.
• Criterion 2: Women prescribed alendronate for the primary prevention of osteoporotic fragility fractures must fit into one of the following three groups:
  • Women aged 70 years or older who are confirmed to have osteoporosis and have either an independent clinical risk factor for fracture or an indicator of low bone mineral density (BMD).
  • Women aged 65-69 years with an independent clinical risk factor for fracture and confirmed osteoporosis.
  • Postmenopausal women younger than 65 years who have an independent clinical risk factor for fracture and an additional indicator of low BMD and confirmed osteoporosis.

Additional criteria on choice of bone sparing agent are described in NICE document.⁴

This article was written to conform to the specification for the directed enhanced service (DES) for osteoporosis in England (2008-2010). It has been based on the current NICE guidance, and osteoporosis "Map of Medicine"⁵ and the national guidelines.

1. Management of osteoporosis, SIGN (2004)
2. WHO Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX™)
3. Clinical directed enhanced services (DES) guidance for GMS contract 2008/09
4. Osteoporosis - primary prevention: audit support, NICE (Sep 2008)
5. Osteoporosis, Map of Medicine (Endocrinology)

• Osteoporosis - primary prevention: audit support, NICE (Sep 2008)