[Fall prevention: a challenge in the strategy of fracture prevention in the elderly]

Fracture risk depends on density and quality of bone but also on fall risk. Besides the resultant fractures, the human and socio-economic burden of falls pose many challenges to the issue of prevention for the elderly. A systematic approach to falls prevention should be considered as a part of routine care. The identification of intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors is an essential initial step to falls prevention. Intervention should be multidisciplinary and multifactorial, targeting modifiable risk factors, especially for high risk patients. We report the experience of a multidisciplinary program designed to prevent falls and fractures, conducted at the Geneva University Hospital.