Bisphosphonate Prescribing Trends and Assessment of Treatment Outcomes

Background
This audit set out to determine the compliance of bisphosphonate prescribing trends within Kennoway Medical Group with NHS Fife’s Osteoporosis Management Policy, with a retrospective focus on fracture outcomes amongst patients actively receiving bisphosphonate treatment.

Methods
Kennoway Medical Group requested an audit of their bisphosphonate prescribing practice to determine whether this is concordant with local policy. The standards of the audit are based on NHS Fife’s Osteoporosis Management Policy. Egton Medical Information System (EMIS) and Docman were used to obtain the data for 58 patients on bisphosphonate treatment. Microsoft Excel was used for composition of graphs and statistical analysis involving the calculation of means, standard deviation, and an unpaired T-test. Data were compared to the initial standards.

Results
A suboptimal compliance rate (67%) of bisphosphonate prescribing was identified, along with findings of age-specific fracture risks in patients receiving bisphosphonate treatment. 

Key Messages

Recommendations are proposed to Kennoway Medical Group for quality improvement. Other practices should consider implementing similar changes.