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. 2019 Nov;13(6):1112-1122.
doi: 10.1177/1932296819835172. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Pan-European Economic Analysis to Identify Cost Savings for the Health Care Systems as a Result of Integrating Glucose Monitoring Based Telemedical Approaches Into Diabetes Management

Katharina Fritzen  1 , Kornelia Basinska  1   2 , Matilde Rubio-Almanza  3 , Antonio Nicolucci  4 , Brian Kennon  5 , Bruno Vergès  6 , Katerina Zakrzewska  7 , Oliver Schnell  1   8
Affiliations

Pan-European Economic Analysis to Identify Cost Savings for the Health Care Systems as a Result of Integrating Glucose Monitoring Based Telemedical Approaches Into Diabetes Management

Katharina Fritzen et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Background: Self-monitoring of blood glucose supported by the diabetes-app OneTouch Reveal® has demonstrated to improve HbA1c. We aimed at analyzing costs savings related the integration of telemedical features into diabetes management.

Methods: Data from a randomized controlled trial were used to assess the 10-year risk of patients for fatal myocardial infarction (MI). On the basis of this risk assessments-also related to a 5% or 10% reduction of hypoglycemic episodes-cost savings for the health care systems of five European countries-France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom-were modeled.

Results: HbA1c reduction of 0.92% in insulin-treated type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM) was associated with a 2.3% decreased 10-year risk for fatal MI. In combination with a 10% reduction of hypoglycemic events this risk reduction led to cost savings of €16.1 million (France), €57.8 million (Germany), €30.9 million (Italy), €23.8 million (Spain), and €5.8 million (UK), considering all insulin-treated T2DM patients in the respective countries.

Conclusion: Improving metabolic control and thus risk for comorbidities like MI by combining the glucose meter with CRI with telemedical features has the potential to reduce costs for European health care systems.

Keywords: blood glucose self-monitoring; cost-effectiveness analysis; diabetes mellitus; telemedicine.

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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 KB have no conflicts of interest. MRA, AN, BK, and BV are members of the LifeScan Advisory Board. KZ is a full-time employee of LifeScan GmbH. OS has acted as a member of advisory boards and given lectures for companies that are involved in glucose monitoring; and is CEO and founder of Sciarc GmbH.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Data from the glucose meter are sent to the cloud-based web application. Data on the cloud are analyzed, stored, and transmitted back to patient’s smartphone application and/or computer as well as to a health care professional. Health care professionals reviewed the 14-day app report for each participant to assist in formulating diabetes-related text messages sent to the participant’s smartphone. Source: The Omni Group, Omni Graffle [Version 7.7.1] [Seattle, WA; 2018]).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Cost savings for insulin-treated T2DM patients with a mean age of 55 years compared to patients with a mean age of 65 years. Mean age of the T2DM population was adjusted from 55 years to 65 years for UKPDS risk assessment. The pronounced reduction of 10-year risk of having an MI translates into higher cost savings for the health care systems of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. These savings can be observed in both groups using glucose meter with CRI with and without the app. Currency exchange rate £1 = €1.1271 (October 2018).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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