GSW Worldwide and National Bone Health Alliance partner to create Cast Mountain to help “break” stereotypes
GSW Worldwide, an inVentiv health company and one of the largest healthcare advertising agencies in the world, has announced a partnership with the National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA) to develop 2Million2Many, a national campaign aimed to raise awareness about the connection between osteoporosis and broken bones and to advance the NBHA’s 20/20 vision to reduce the rate of osteoporosis-related breaks 20 percent by the year 2020.
The National Bone Health Alliance and inVentiv shop GSW Worldwide are launching 2Million2Many, a national education campaign designed to raise awareness of the connection between osteoporosis and broken bones. The campaign, including print ads, a microsite (2million2many.org), PSA and documentary, will urge Americans 50 and up to get follow-up testing when they break a bone.
WASHINGTON, May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA), a public-private partnership with 42 member organizations, is urging a simple solution to a big problem: if it's 50+ fracture, request a test. This is the call-to-action for the NBHA's new public and healthcare professional education campaign – 2Million2Many (www.2Million2Many.org).
NBHA responded to the New York Times coverage of the FDA analysis posted by the New England Journal of Medicine on May 9, praising the FDA for continuing to investigate the risks and benefits of long-term bisphosphonate use and encouraging patients to speak with their healthcare providers before discontinuing treatment.
In response to today’s Perspective pieces published in the New England Journal Of Medicine, the National Bone Health Alliance (NBHA), a public-private partnership bringing together the expertise and resources of its 42 members from the private and non-profit sectors to collectively advance bone health and prevent disease, commends the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for continuing to investigate the risks and benefits of long-term bisphosphonate treatment. As recommended in the articles, NBHA encourages patients to talk with their healthcare providers about the risks and benefits of bisphosphonate and other osteoporosis treatments as well as their individual risk factors for osteoporosis and broken bones in order to determine the appropriate method and length of treatment.
On April 4, the Choosing Wisely initiative, a project of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, released a list of 45 tests or procedures that may be over-utilized, including dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) tests in women younger than 65 or men younger than 70 with no risk factors. Several media outlets ran articles on the list of over-utilized tests, with some omitting recommendations regarding utilization of DXA for those with osteoporosis risk factors, thereby failing to portray accurately the recommendations of the Choosing Wisely initiative.
Gone are the days when women with osteoporosis were identifiable by a hump in their backs. Now even women standing tall may have the disease. But doctors say bone density loss is preventable by following the appropriate steps.
NBHA received more than 190 applications from institutions interested in being considered a site for the prospective 3-year, $29 million CMS-funded initiative that would create a fracture liaison service in the Medicare (and Medicaid age 50 and above) population in up to 80 sites; note that the application deadline has passed and applications are no longer being accepted. NBHA anticipates CMS notification in the next several weeks.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has finalized new guidelines expanding the pool of women for whom osteoporosis screening is recommended. The guidance recommends screening for all women ages 65 and older, as well as younger women who have a level of risk equivalent to a 65-year-old white woman with no additional risk factors.
