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Observational Study
. 2018 Sep;12(5):1002-1006.
doi: 10.1177/1932296818758104. Epub 2018 Feb 13.

Improvement of Metabolic Control and Diabetes Management in Insulin-Treated Patients Results in Substantial Cost Savings for the German Health System

Katharina Fritzen  1 , Bettina Gutschek  2 , Benedikte Coucke  3 , Katerina Zakrzewska  4 , Michael Hummel  5 , Oliver Schnell  1   5
Affiliations
Observational Study

Improvement of Metabolic Control and Diabetes Management in Insulin-Treated Patients Results in Substantial Cost Savings for the German Health System

Katharina Fritzen et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2018 Sep.

Abstract

Background: Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) using the ColourSure™ Technology to visualize target range showed improvement of metabolic control and overall diabetes self-management in insulin-treated patients. This economic analysis aimed to identify cost savings for the German health system resulting from an HbA1c reduction due to the utilization of user-friendly glucose meters.

Methods: Patient data from a recently published observational study on SMBG were used for risk evaluations using the UKPDS risk engine. These values were integrated in an economic analysis regarding costs of myocardial infarctions (MIs) related to diabetes for the German health system. Based on an earlier assessment these calculations were combined with a 10% reduction of severe hypoglycemic episodes. In the current study, 0% severe hypoglycemic episodes were observed.

Results: An HbA1c reduction of 0.69% over 6 months was associated with a 3% decreased risk of MI in 10 years. In this model the decrease led to cost savings of €4.90 per patient-year. Considering 2.3 million insulin-treated patients in Germany, this 3% reduction of MI could result in annual savings of €11.27 million. Combining this with a 10% reduction in severe hypoglycemic events, the cost savings would increase to €30.61 per patient-year or €70.4 million for 2.3 million insulin-treated patients in Germany.

Conclusion: The improvement of metabolic control and diabetes self-management that was achieved with the ColourSure™ Technology has the potential to generate substantial cost savings for the German health system underlining the importance of user-friendly methods for SMBG.

Keywords: ColourSure™ Technology; Diabetes; Economic Analysis; Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: KF and MH have no conflicts of interest. BG, BC, and KZ are employees of Johnson & Johnson GmbH. OS has acted as member of advisory boards and given lectures for companies that are involved in glucose monitoring and is CEO and founder of Sciarc GmbH.

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