Background: The Asia-Pacific (AP) region comprises 71 countries with vastly different healthcare systems. By 2050, more than half the world’s hip fractures will occur in AP. The AP Consortium on Osteoporosis (APCO) brings together clinical experts from countries and regions across AP to develop solutions to challenges facing osteoporosis management and fracture prevention in this highly populous region.
Method: The initial APCO project (“the Framework”) is to develop pan-AP minimum clinical standards for the screening, diagnosis and management of osteoporosis focusing on a broad range of high-risk groups, including patients with prior fragility fracture, those deemed to be at high risk based on country-specific fracture intervention thresholds and other high-risk groups, such as patients with conditions/or who are on medications known to predispose to bone loss.
Conclusion: The Framework will serve as a platform upon which country-specific guidelines can be developed or existing guidelines be revised, in a standardised fashion. It is hoped that APCO will serve as an impetus for development of other such alliances world-wide.
Acknowledgement: APCO wishes to acknowledge Amgen Asia for their provision of financial support to fund a secretariat function, event management and communication activities leading up to the formation of APCO. However, the opinions and activities of APCO are not influenced by Amgen, nor did Amgen have any role in the development of this abstract.