Can a fracture liaison service (FLS) be successfully established in Greece?

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a metabolic disease that primarily affects the elderly population in most countries across the globe, with its incidence rising significantly over the past decades. This condition leads to a significantly increased risk of fragility fractures, which can lead to several complications and even death.1 Greece faces the same challenge, with projections indicating a substantial rise in osteoporosis and fragility fractures the coming years.2 In particular, the growing incidence of fragility fractures and especially the hip fractures threaten to overwhelm the local health care systems, leading to increased complications, mortality rates and costs.3 Treating these patients presents numerous challenges for health care professionals, who have to address not only the fracture but also co-existing conditions such as multiple comorbidities, sarcopenia, malnutrition and frequent falls.4
With the view of improving the health care services provided for these patients, the fragility fracture network (FFN) global has divided the these challenges into four pillars, helping to articulate and organise these patients’ management. The first pillar focuses on the multi-disciplinary approach and the orthogeriatric management of these patients. The second pillar focuses on the rehabilitation and the aftercare of these patients, with the view to improve their independence and quality of life. The third pillar focuses on the secondary prevention of a new fragility fracture and the fourth pillar focuses on the national collaborations and change of local policies.5