Medical gaps leave millions of women at risk for fractures

A medical failure is leaving millions of older women vulnerable to preventable injuries. An analysis of 100 million insurance claims by Motive Medical Intelligence found that an overwhelming majority of women who suffer bone fragility fractures, or minor slips resulting in broken wrists, vertebrae or hips, are never evaluated or treated for osteoporosis. One in five women older than 50 and nearly one in three over age 65 have osteoporosis, with fractures costing the U.S. health care system $57 billion annually. In Rhode Island, 87% of women who suffered a fragility fracture received no osteoporosis treatment. Even in Hawaii, the national leader, 55% of affected women are untreated.