Coalition Of Leading Medical Organizations Announce Launch Of National Initiative To Improve The Care Of Patients With Osteoporosis

Main Category: Bones / Orthopaedics
Article Date: 05 Dec 2008 - 1:00 PST

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The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the National Osteoporosis Foundation, Baylor College of Medicine, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and the University of Kentucky Colleges of Pharmacy and Medicine, along with Gullapalli & Associates announced today the development of the National Osteoporosis Educational Initiative (NOEI) a curriculum-based, performance improvement continuing medical education (PI-CME) initiative to educate and train a multidisciplinary group of healthcare providers on early diagnosis and management of osteoporosis. The foundation for the NOEI will be a Faculty Curriculum Development Summit, to be held in February 2009 on the Johns Hopkins medical campus.

"The bone health status of Americans today is in jeopardy, especially as the population ages. Osteoporosis and related bone diseases affect about 15 million Americans and cause approximately 2 million fractures annually, figures that will rise significantly in the decades ahead unless action is taken now," states Wen Shen, MD, MPH, FACOG, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of the Menopause and Women's Health Center at Johns Hopkins, and Course Director for the NOEI.

"The nature of the scope and design of the collaboration between the National Osteoporosis Foundation and these prestigious organizations will ensure that providers receive education that will enhance their overall approach and communication with patients at risk or living with osteoporosis," states Robert Recker, MD, president of the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Through inter-organizational collaboration and the PI-CME component, the NOEI will empower various types of providers with the knowledge and know-how to continually assess the care they deliver, measure that care against national benchmarks, compare that care among their peers, and document their improvement over time. The overall initiative curriculum will focus on early diagnosis of osteoporosis, adopting appropriate fracture risk stratification and optimal management strategies for patients with osteoporosis.

"The uniqueness of the NOEI is not limited to the collaborative approach or the PI-CME component alone, but how they've been integrated, allowing for synergies that typically wouldn't be possible alone," states Dr. Venkat Gullapalli, CEO of Gullapalli and Associates, LLC. "Synergies such as better measurable outcomes, curricula that is specific to the needs of multiple providers in one rather than multiple initiatives, and cost-effective allocation of resources allow us to develop and provide as many activities and programs as possible to participants."

About Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

In 2008, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Johns Hopkins Hospital #1 among American hospitals for the 18th consecutive year. Johns Hopkins remains the nation's leading medical school recipient of research funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In 2006, the Johns Hopkins Office of CME received "Accreditation with Commendation" for 6 years, the highest ranking issued by the ACCME. Hopkins CME has been recognized as a center for "Best Practices" and as a resource to ACCME accredited providers.

For more information please visit http://www.hopkinscme.edu.

About the National Osteoporosis Foundation

Established in 1984, the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF) is the nation's leading voluntary health organization solely dedicated to osteoporosis and bone health. Its mission is to prevent osteoporosis and related fractures, to promote lifelong bone health, to help improve the lives of those affected by osteoporosis and to find a cure through programs of awareness, advocacy, public and health professional education and research.

For additional information about the National Osteoporosis Foundation, please visit the Web site http://www.nof.org/

About Baylor College of Medicine

Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, Texas is the only private medical school in the greater southwest and is recognized as a premiere academic health science center known for excellence in education, research and patient care. For 2009, U.S. News and World Report ranked BCM 13th overall among the nation's top medical schools for research and 7th for primary care. BCM is also listed 13th among all U.S. medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, and 2nd in the nation in federal funding for research and development in the biological sciences at universities and college by the National Science Foundation. During the reaccreditation proves in March 2007, BCM received "Accreditation with Commendation" for exemplary performance in fulfilling the accreditation requirements as a provider of continuing medical education.

For additional information about Baylor College of Medicine, please visit http://www.bcm.edu or http://www.BaylorCME.org.

About Gullapalli and Associates, LLC

Gullapalli and Associates, LLC (G&A), is a leading consulting firm composed of a team of educational strategists who specialize in the identification, development and facilitation of collaborative educational initiatives. G&A works directly with healthcare organizations, societies, associations and centers of excellence to develop initiatives that address key gaps and barriers amongst specified healthcare providers. G&A's process ensures that the resulting education is driven directly by these organizations, enabling them to better provide their skill, knowledge and credibility to augment the overall outcomes of the initiatives for both healthcare providers and patients.

Gullapalli and Associates, LLC