Canada's health-care system has got its report card on osteoporosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment - it got a failing grade.
One in four women and one in eight men over age 50 in this country have osteoporosis, a disease that thins the bones and makes them brittle and likely to fracture. Yet only a small number of these Canadians are being referred for bone mineral density (BMD) testing, an essential tool for diagnosis and treatment.
This is the conclusion in Breaking Barriers, Not Bones, the first large-scale, national report card from Osteoporosis Canada assessing access to BMD testing and medications.
Key findings include:
access to BMD testing across the country is far from adequate: most provinces received a grade of C or lower, despite existing guidelines for testing; two failing F grades went to Saskatchewan and Manitoba; Ontario and Alberta received Bs and British Columbia got a C; six others received D grades.
assessment of the availability of medications on provincial/territorial public drugs plans yielded a B for Ontario and for the Yukon, Cs for six others, a C-minus for B.C. and a failing F for Prince Edward Island.
Dr. Famida Jiwa, vice-president and chair of the report card committee for Osteoporosis Canada, says the research confirms major gaps across the country in accessing testing and treatment options. She adds that the report will be a valuable tool in establishing a benchmark to measure future progress.
"Osteoporosis has a profound impact on an individual's quality of life and a tremendous financial burden on Canada's health-care system," Jiwa says. "Ensuring that Canadians with osteoporosis have access to adequate care, regardless of where they live, must be a priority."
