Sexual HealthNHS Spends 10% Of Annual Budget On Treating Diabetes, UK
Living with diabetes involves keeping a close eye on blood
glucose levels. This is done by putting a drop of blood onto a small but
expensive device called a test strip. A dramatic price reduction by Ambe
Medical Group could herald a big change in diabetes management and NHS
strategy.
The price of test strips has long been a contentious issue.
With the explosion of diabetes (150,000 new cases in 2008 alone) the NHS is
struggling with ever increasing costs. The charity, Diabetes UK has analysed
official figures and calculated the NHS is now spending 10% of its annual
budget on treating diabetes. A major component of these costs is test strips,
with many- primary care trusts (PCT"s) spending nearly as much on test strips
as they do on medications to treat the disease.
In response, pressure has been placed on PCT"s to curb
excessive use of strips which has led to accusations of rationing and
petitions by Diabetes organisations to maintain the free availability of
strips for those who need them. Diabetes blogs have the recurrent theme that
government advice on testing frequency may have more to do with controlling
costs than patient care.
The NHS has also looked at the supply side of the equation and
firmly believes it is paying too much for test strips. Manufacturers either
give away or heavily discount the instruments (meters) used to read the
strips in order to promote sales. This has resulted in it being common for
people to have two or three meters each. This generosity is ultimately funded
by the NHS, as it is only possible with high strip prices. However, efforts
to date by the NHS to obtain better test strip prices from manufacturers have
largely failed.
On May 1, 2009, one manufacturer reduced the price of their
test strip to the NHS, by approximately 50% (distributed in the UK by Ambe
Medical Group). This should allow the NHS to save money on strips and perhaps
loosen the restrictions on supply a little, but there is one catch - the test
strip (Glucoflex-R) is read by eye, not by meter. Critics argue this is not
as accurate or convenient as meter testing. The manufacturer cites studies
that show the product is just as effective despite not giving an answer to
one decimal place, something they argue is unnecessary for control of blood
sugar. This debate has already happened in Germany where Glucoflex-R is an
established strip for type 2 diabetes (test strips are not subsidised by the
German government for people with Type 2 Diabetes). As a footnote, another
low cost visually read strip is soon to be available on prescription
according to s at the NHS. How the other manufactures and the NHS react
to these developments, remains to be seen. To learn more about Glucoflex-R
blood glucose test strips please visit here.
Ambe Medical Group