Osteoporosis: Its time to test yourself

As of April 1, the Federal Government will be subsidising osteoporosis screening and access to preventative treatments, marking the first time Australians will have access to funded osteoporosis prevention.

Australians will be able to undergo a Medicare subsidised DXA scan, a simple test which measures bone mineral density (BMD) and determines if patients are at significant risk of osteoporosis. Those at risk will then have access to a number of osteoporosis prevention treatments via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

Clinicians have long been fighting for these subsidies given the projected increase of osteoporosis in Australia. In 2001, every eight minutes one Australian suffered from a fracture due to osteoporosis. Without preventative treatment this was expected to rise to every three to four minutes by 2021.

Experts are calling on older Australians are encouraged to arrange a subsidised DXA scan to determine if they will benefit from preventative osteoporosis treatment.