How much diabetes cost the nhs

Prevention is better than cure, but misinformation enshrines diabetes. Unless we have diabetes or know someone who does, our understanding is likely to be weak. The rise of diabetes seems inevitable. The diabetes.

Late in , NHS England began a consultation as part of its plan to improve prescribing. The NHS looked at costly items that were working well, but where cheaper options would work well too. The consultation included blood glucose test strips, with these recommendations:. The intent was not to stop prescriptions for blood glucose test strips. Even simple switches, such as from one blood glucose test strip to another, take time and effort.

CCGs have local formularies of preferred items for every type of medication. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons to prescribe off-formulary medications though, such as when:. During a formulary review, a CCG medicines optimisation team compares available products. Considerations will often also include continuity of supply, clinical effectiveness and quality.

As John Ruskin said:. Deciding which products should be on the formulary is only the start of the process. Hard work at GP practices unlocks the cost reductions. Every practice will need to:. Formulary switches can be a painful process for practice staff. Primary care is under pressure, and formulary switches create more work at practices. Changing medication can cause angst for patients too. What if someone could do the work for practice staff? We call it active implementation.

There are many benefits of active implementation:. We follow best practice in medicines optimisation. Clinical pharmacists and nurse educators work together to focus on the needs of the CCG, its clinicians and patients. In England, two-thirds of people with type 1 diabetes and a third of those with type 2 diabetes have poor control over their blood glucose levels, noted the study authors.

The researchers used data from the NHS Digital Hospital Episode Statistics in England and the National Diabetes Audit to compare the cost of hospital treatment provided to people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to people without the condition, after adjusting for the effect of age. Data was analysed on elective and emergency admissions, outpatient visits, and accident and emergency department attendances for 58 million people including 2.

The authors highlighted that their study did not include the indirect costs associated with diabetes, such as those related to increased death and illness, work loss, and the need for informal care.

Sign in or Register a new account to join the discussion. Creating diabetes superheroes at the first virtual event held recently included activities for young people living with the condition to create their own type 1 diabetes superheroes. Every penny really does count. Published: Nov 14, Category: Looking after yourself.

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