The Critical Role of Follow-Up in Fracture Liaison Services for Geriatric Hip Fracture Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Purpose Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) have been developed as a coordinated, multidisciplinary programs designed to improve the identification and management of patients with fragility fractures, including hip fractures. This study aims to evaluate the impact of coordinator based FLS on medical treatment compliance and mortality in patients following hip fracture. Specifically, it seeks to evaluate the impact of routine follow-up post discharge on these outcomes. Methods Comparative retrospective cohort of following hip fracture patients for one year after surgery. First group with the complete FLS treatment and protocol and second group with partial FLS protocol without the routine clinical follow-up after discharge. Main clinical outcomes were osteoporosis medication compliance and morality rates. Results 347 participants, 182 (52.4%) without a coordinator follow-up and 165 (47.6%) with a coordinator follow-up. Patients with coordinator follow-up had better medication compliance 1 year following hip fracture (77% vs 39%). First year mortality rate was 11% and 13% accordingly without statistical significance. Conclusion This study found that patients in an FLS with coordinator follow-up had better clinical outcomes, receiving more timely medication recommendations and showing higher treatment adherence, highlighting the value of coordinated follow-up in long-term care.