A national virtual fracture clinic service: A more tactful approach

The redesign and reconfiguration of the traditional "face to face" fracture clinic model towards virtual assessment and management of patients has been shown to be safe, cost-effective and associated with high patient satisfaction and patient reported outcome rates. The purpose of this study was to look at the potential financial implications of introducing a national virtual fracture clinic service in Ireland. Methods: A combination of established costings for a virtual fracture clinic pathway at our institution and current available public data was utilised to create a national projection. Results: The introduction of a national TAC service could lead to areduction of 31.5% of patients attending traditional "face to face" fracture clinic appointments with a further 35% of this cohort being discharged directly representing an overall projected cost saving per annum in excess of 3.3 million. Conclusion: The introduction of a national TAC service would promote patient empowerment without comprising clinical care and could provide significant cost savings and financial benefits for the Irish Public Health System without the need for substantial investment.