Overview

Denosumab (Prolia) has no residual activity once a dose is delayed or missed. Bone turnover rebounds rapidly and bone mineral density gains are quickly reversed, with vertebral fracture risk nearly quadrupling beyond a 16-week delay. For GP practices, keeping every patient within the 6-month dosing window is a procedural task that depends on a reliable recall system.

This guide takes your practice team through a complete Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle focused on Prolia recall recovery. It covers identifying overdue patients, the recall methods that work, the reminder-at-time-of-administration protocol that prevents recurrence, and the clinical knowledge base for denosumab including discontinuation, transition therapy and MRONJ timing. The worked example shows how a real practice recovered a backlog of 66 overdue patients across three monthly cycles.

Completing the full cycle can contribute up to 9 Continuing Professional Development (CPD) hours across Educational Activities, Reviewing Performance and Measuring Outcomes categories when submitted as a practice-based or group activity.

What the guide covers

Recall recovery

Identifying overdue Prolia patients via database search, working through the backlog, and the comparison of phone contact against automated recall for this patient group.

Preventing recurrence

The reminder-at-time-of-administration protocol, the at-injection checklist, reminder cards and the monthly overdue search that keeps the backlog from growing.

Clinical knowledge base

Denosumab mechanism, indications, contraindications, monitoring, discontinuation and transition therapy, dental extraction timing and patient education.

CPD hours breakdown

Completing the full PDSA cycle can contribute up to 9 CPD hours. The breakdown below shows how hours are allocated across RACGP CPD categories.

Educational Activities (3 hours)

Review of denosumab management, fracture risk evidence and the practice knowledge base.

Reviewing Performance (3 hours)

Reviewing overdue Prolia recalls against the dosing schedule and setting recovery targets.

Measuring Outcomes (3 hours)

Tracking overdue recalls across three monthly cycles and confirming the trend holds.

Key topics

Delayed dosing and rebound fracture risk

Overdue recall identification and recovery

Reminder systems and the at-injection checklist

Discontinuation and transition therapy

MRONJ and dental extraction timing

Clinical and operational value

Reliable Prolia recall protects patients from rebound fractures and supports continuity of care.

Patient safety

Keeping every patient within the 6-month window prevents the rapid bone loss and rebound vertebral fractures that follow missed or delayed doses.

Continuity and billing

Consistent recall supports GP Chronic Condition Management Plan review where appropriate, nurse monitoring under MBS item 10997, and fewer missed appointments.

Who should use this guide

Dr Chris Mitchell AM

Dr Christopher Mitchell AM is a general practitioner with over 35 years of clinical experience. He is a medical director of Lennox Head Medical Centre and Epiq Medical Centre in Northern New South Wales. Dr Mitchell has held board roles across aged care, community health and governance organisations and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).

Read the guide

This PDSA guide is free for Australian GP practices.

Read online
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