Compliance with osteoporosis treatment guidelines in postmenopausal women.

Background: Osteoporosis continues to be poorly managed despite compelling statistics indicating increased morbidity and mortality associated with fractures. Guideline compliance in individual practices must be evaluated to implement improvements in the care of patients with this disease state.

Objective: To evaluate compliance with osteoporosis treatment guidelines by physicians and patients at 2 family medicine clinics affiliated with a large university teaching hospital.