Founded in 2012, the International Geriatric Fracture Society (IGFS) is a nonprofit, 501(c)6-designated organization whose mission is to be recognized as the foremost international authority for collaboration on the delivery of evidence-based, patient-centered care for the treatment of geriatric or fragility fractures. Its CORE Certification Program is a global quality improvement initiative designed to recognize the achievements of programs that exceed outcomes benchmarks in the management of geriatric fractures.

One of the leading healthcare challenges for society is the prevalence and cost associated with geriatric fracture care for an aging population. The mission of the IGFS is to promote comanagement of fragility fractures centered around an interdisciplinary team that focuses on key quality indicators such as time to surgery, readmission rates, mortality, and osteoporosis education.

The CORE Certification Program was developed by the IGFS team of international experts representing thought-leaders in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. The first major initiative of the organization is to recognize the achievements of Geriatric Fracture Care Programs that are delivering the highest quality care to this patient population.

“For many years, orthopaedic thought-leaders have been zeroing in on the key indications that will drive better quality and efficient care,” noted Stephen L. Kates, MD, past president of the IGFS. “Having these leaders and scientific data coalesce into the development of protocols and now a certification program is a significant step in producing the framework for our society to deal with this massive healthcare challenge.”

The certification process and ongoing performance measurement help organizations to decrease variability of care, increase quality, improve patient outcomes, and strengthen the team dynamics within the organization.

“Our goal was to create a process that championed key values: collaboration; quality improvement; and outcomes measurement,” added Michael Suk, MD, JD, MPH, current IGFS president. “It was important for us to focus on data as well as processes. Through the CORE program we now have a pathway for programs to benchmark their success, drive quality improvement, and work in a collaborative manner with peer programs across the nation. If we are to successfully address this challenge, it is an important first step to measure achievement and disseminate best practices across the many programs that exist.”

For more information, visit www.geriatricfracture.org