Clinician-researcher recognised with Monash Health leadership award

Dr Frances Milat has been acknowledged for her work as Head of Monash Health’s Metabolic Bone Service at Monash Health with the 2016 One Monash Health Award for Leadership in Excellence in Access and Responsiveness.

The One Monash Health Awards recognise outstanding leadership and innovation, and are a valuable contribution towards Monash Health’s future.

Dr Milat is a Consultant Endocrinologist and Head of Metabolic Bone Services at Monash Health as well as the Head of the Metabolic Bone Research Group within the Centre for Endocrinology and Metabolism, Hudson Institute of Medical Research.

Dr Frances Milat established the Metabolic Bone Clinic at Monash Health in 2010 as a multidisciplinary clinic with paediatrics to address the increasing demand for delivery of specialised care to young adults with bone disorders.

The clinic reviews young adults with complex fractures but also sees patients with osteoporosis in the context of multiple medical comorbidities including neurological disease, haematological conditions, renal disease, liver disease, malignancy. With both adult and paediatric endocrinologists, the clinic also provides an opportunity for adolescents to transition to adult care.

The clinic aims to provide excellence in clinical care and, in particular, to address gaps in our current knowledge of bone disorders. The clinic now has seven clinicians including three endocrine fellows who are actively involved in clinical research. Research into mechanism of bone disease in thalassemia, cerebral palsy and spina bifida, atypical fractures as well as women’s heath are currently underway. These conditions are particularly underserved by conventional therapeutic guidelines and evidence.

The Metabolic Bone Clinic hopes to improve patient care and outcomes through improved understanding of mechanisms of bone loss and treatments. Some of this work has already been published in high profile international bone and endocrinology journals. Dr Milat has been invited to present some of this work at international meetings in Bejing and Orlando, Florida, later this year and early next year.

In addition, Dr Frances Milat has lead the establishment of an Osteoporosis Clinic at Dandenong Hospital to address the need for specialised secondary fracture prevention services in conjunction with the Monash Health Orthopedic Department. This service continues to expand with increasing demand from other specialty units as well as the local community.