Bone Abstracts

Background: Specialist osteoporosis services increasingly manage high volumes of patient queries outside formal clinic appointments. Although advice lines improve access and support treatment adherence, recurrent low-complexity contacts may reduce capacity needed for clinically urgent or complex issues. Characterising these contacts may identify opportunities for targeted service redesign.

Methods: We undertook a retrospective service evaluation of contacts to a rheumatology osteoporosis advice line between October 2024 and February 2026. Overall call volume and time burden were assessed using the full dataset. A structured sample of 300 calls from six evenly spaced months across the study period was reviewed in detail and coded into predefined thematic categories. Calls were additionally classified according to whether they were suitable for frequently asked questions (FAQ)-based written guidance, were solely administrative, or required redirection to other services.

Results: Between October 2024 and February 2026, 1,981 calls were recorded. Mean call length was 3.7 minutes (SD 2.9; n1,870) and mean total time taken to address each call was 7.6 minutes (SD 4.1; n1,871), representing 238.4 staff hours over the study period, equivalent to 14.0 hours per month. In the sampled dataset, the most common themes were parenteral treatment scheduling/administration (52, 17.3%), monitoring blood tests (46, 15.3%), fracture liaison service (FLS) pathway queries (33, 11.0%), medication counselling (31, 10.3%), and clinic/DXA appointment delays (26, 8.7%). These five themes accounted for 62.6% of sampled calls. Overall, 79 calls (26.3%) were considered suitable for FAQ-based written guidance, 71 (23.7%) were solely administrative, and 22 (7.3%) required redirection to other services.

Conclusion: Most calls to the osteoporosis advice line related to a small number of recurring themes, and many did not require specialist clinical input. Potential interventions include co-designed FAQ resources, standardised FLS information leaflets, clearer communication regarding monitoring pathways and appointment waiting times, and dedicated administrative support for parenteral treatment scheduling and non-clinical queries. These measures may reduce avoidable demand, improve consistency of advice, and protect specialist capacity for clinically urgent or complex queries.