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VIDEO: Reduced DXA reimbursement may lead to undiagnosed osteoporosis, hip fractures
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ATLANTA — In this video exclusive, E. Michael Lewiecki, MD, FACP, FACE, director of New Mexico Clinical Research and Osteoporosis Center in Albuquerque, discusses his study on the rate of hip fractures in the United States and the reduction in reimbursement for DXA testing.
Since 2007, poor reimbursement for DXA testing has led patients who would have been evaluated in the past to forgo DXA osteoporosis assessment, Lewiecki said. Also, the decline in hip fracture rates that had been apparent for about 10 years has leveled out, and the number of fractures is now larger than projected based on earlier data. Lewiecki emphasized that the study was observations and cannot establish causality. The reasons for this increased fracture rate are likely to be multifactorial, Lewiecki said, but are consistent with the theme of the meeting that there is a crisis in osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment.