Monday, March 05, 2007
What are the medical costs?
Medical costs related to fractures are burdensome to both the individual patient as well as the U.S. health care system. For the individual, each hip fracture represents an estimated $40,000 in medical costs. For the U.S. health care system, the total cost of all osteoporotic fractures in 2001 was estimated to be almost $18 billion, which included costs for hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and treatment in outpatient settings. The cost of osteoporotic fractures to the health care system is expected to exceed $60 billion by the year 2030.
