The International Osteoporosis Foundation’s (IOF) Capture the Fracture^® program has launched a new, enhanced online platform to enable coordinated post-fracture care services (including ‘Fracture Liaison Services’, or FLS) to receive free assessment and global recognition of their services.

Capture the Fracture^® (CTF) is an IOF initiative to facilitate the implementation of coordinated, multi-disciplinary models of care for secondary fracture prevention, which provides recognition and sets global best practices for post-fracture care services based on the CTF Best Practice Framework (BPF), the internationally-endorsed guidance for excellence in secondary fracture prevention. 

CTF invites FLS worldwide to apply for free assessment against the BPF standards, and to receive global recognition, access to various education and policy resources, as well as access to a network of international experts who can provide mentorship and support. Currently 656 FLS in 49 countries have benefited from this international ‘best practice’ recognition program, more than double the number of participating services since January 2019. 

IOF President Professor Cyrus Cooper, stated:

“The new online application process will make participation in the Capture the Fracture program easier than ever. I encourage all hospitals with new or established Fracture Liaison Services to apply and to benefit from expert assessment and prestigious recognition for their service’s achievements.” 

FLS which apply to the CTF program are evaluated against the thirteen BPF standards for four key fragility fracture patient groups - hip fractures, other in-patient fractures, outpatient fractures and vertebral fractures – and on their organizational characteristics. Following expert evaluation, the FLS receives an overall rating of gold, silver , bronze, or blue for those newly established, and the service is awarded a Capture the Fracture® Best Practice Recognition certification. All FLS, including newly established services which have not yet gathered enough data to enable assessment, are featured on the interactive CTF Map of Best Practice.

Apply for global recognition and a prestigious Certificate of Achievement

With the new online platform, applying FLS are able to create a personalized account so that the Best Practice Framework Questionnaire can be completed in multiple steps at their own convenience. The FLS will also be able to follow-up on their assessment submission through their personal account and easily update their data to facilitate re-assessment in the future.

The online questionnaire has been launched in English, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and French. It will soon be accessible in other languages, including Dutch and Russian. 

Applying programs will benefit from the following:

• Visibility and recognition for their PFC Coordination Program/FLS on the CTF international and interactive Map of Best Practice;
• Peer-review of their PFC Coordination Program/FLS by the CTF Steering Committee and benchmarking for FLS against the internationally endorsed Best Practice Framework, highlighting service’s strengths and areas for improvement;
• Use of the IOF-approved Capture the Fracture^® Best Practice Recognition logo on their service’s website and materials;
• Access to a wide range of resources and tools, as well as a network of international experts who can share their expertise and also provide mentorship and support.

Professor Cooper added:

“Although half of patients presenting with hip fractures have suffered a prior ‘warning’ fracture, healthcare systems are still failing to act following the first fracture. The majority of fragility fracture patients are neither assessed nor treated to reduce their risk of a future fracture. IOF believes that the implementation of coordinated post-fracture care programs such as FLS is the best way to close this inacceptable osteoporosis care gap.”

“We call on hospitals worldwide to implement post-fracture care programs, and invite them to join the Capture the Fracture^® program.”

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About the Best Practice Framework
The Best Practice Framework (BPF) is the Capture the Fracture® internationally endorsed, peer-reviewed guideline for secondary prevention of osteoporotic fractures. The BPF promotes a coordinator-based model of post-fracture care, most often known as a Fracture Liaison Service (FLS), as the model of choice to be adopted by all hospitals and outpatient facilities that are treating fragility fracture patients. Structured as a series of 13 standards, the BPF addresses elements that are essential to FLS success and long-term sustainability and also includes aspirational goals, thus encouraging service excellence. Each standard gives criteria and targets that are broken down into three levels of achievement: gold, silver and bronze.

The objectives of the BPF are to:

• Empower Change for clinical champions and health care administrators to rationally evaluate provision of secondary fracture prevention in their health care system in the context of globally-endorsed standards.
• Provide Guidance for those health care systems that are yet to establish an FLS
• Give Recognition to leaders of established FLS for their dedication to excellence.

FLS which apply for ‘Best Practice Recognition’ are assessed by Capture the Fracture® experts after completing the BPF Questionnaire, which reflects the thirteen BPF Standards. These FLS receive a corresponding Certificate of Achievement and their service receives recognition on the global ‘Map of Best Practice’.
The BPF is available in 14 languages and the BPF questionnaire is currently available online in five languages with more translations to be made available soon.

https://www.capturethefracture.org/index.php/best-practice-framework  
https://www.capturethefracture.org/best-practice-framework-questionnaire  

About Capture the Fracture^® 
Capture the Fracture^® (CTF) is a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). The initiative hopes to drive changes at local and international levels, so that secondary fracture prevention becomes a reality. Its aim is to set global best practices for Fracture Liaison Services (FLS), while serving as a benchmark tool to which clinics and hospitals can adhere and aspire to, and receive international recognition. The CTF program has a diverse set of tools that provides essential resources and documentation to drive quality improvement in FLS; CTF also offers mentorship programs that support development of FLS at the local level. Currently the CTF network includes 656 FLS in 49 countries worldwide. 
https://www.capturethefracture.org #CaptureTheFracture

About IOF
The International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) is the world's largest nongovernmental organization dedicated to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and related musculoskeletal diseases. IOF members, including committees of scientific researchers as well as 268 patient, medical and research societies, work together to make fracture prevention and healthy mobility a worldwide health care priority. https://www.osteoporosis.foundation @iofbonehealth