Fixing a Fragmented System: Impact of a Comprehensive Geriatric Hip Fracture Program on Long-Term Mortality

Geriatric hip fractures are increasingly common and confer substantial morbidity and mortality. Fragmentation in geriatric hip fracture care remains a barrier to improved outcomes.

To evaluate the impact of a comprehensive geriatric hip fracture program on long-term mortality.

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients aged 65 years and older admitted to our academic medical center between January 1, 2012, and March 31, 2016 with an acute fragility hip fracture. Mortality data were obtained for in-state residents from the state public health department.

Mortality within 1 year of index admission and overall survival based on available follow-up data.

We identified 243 index admissions during the study period, including 135 before and 108 after program implementation in October 2014. The postintervention cohort trended toward a lower unadjusted 1-year mortality rate compared with the preintervention cohort (15.7% vs 24.4%, p = 0.111), as well as lower adjusted mortality at 1 year (relative risk = 0.73, 95% confidence interval = 0.46-1.16, p = 0.18), although the differences were not statistically significant. The postintervention cohort had significantly higher overall survival than did the preintervention cohort (hazard ratio for death = 0.43, 95% confidence interval = 0.25-0.74, p = 0.002).

Fixing fragmentation in geriatric hip fracture care such as through an orthogeriatric model is essential to improving overall survival for this patient population.