Abstract
Among patients with diabetes, frequent glucose testing is one of the major barriers to achieve optimal glycemic control. The current standard of care is self-monitoring blood glucose (SMBG) involving finger pricking. Flash Glucose Monitoring (FGM) is a novel, sensor based, technology that continuously measures glucose levels and patients obtain their values by sensor scanning. The aim of this analysis is to estimate the costs associated with FGM as a replacement for routine SMBG in patients with T2DM under insulin treatment in Spain. REPLACE Study showed an average of 3.8 tests a day. Patients using a FGM system spent less time in hypoglycemia when compared to patients using SMBG, but no reduction in the number of hypoglycemic events was shown. Unit costs for SMBG were 0.04€ per lancet, 0.24€ per strip, 25.20€ per meter and 19.52€ per lancing device. Unit costs for FGM were 59.90€ per FGM reader and 59.90€ per sensor. Annual cost of 3.8 SMBG test/day is 433€ per patient compared with 1592€ per patient using FGM. Meaning that with the cost of each FGM reimbursed patient, more than 3 SMBG patients could be afforded. If all patients with T2DM under insulin treatment in Spain (12% of the patients with T2DM) were switched from SMBG to FGM, 12% of the patients (FGM) would concentrate 31% of the glucose measuring resources, while 88% of the patients (SMBG) would take the remaining 69%. In Spain, the cost of SMBG Test Strips equals 2% of the annual Diabetes Budget, if patients with T2DM under insulin treatment were switched to FGM, the amount would raise to 3% of the budget. While FGM is a great innovation that simplifies daily diabetes management and patient adherence to testing frequency, the costs associated with this technology are still a major barrier for patient access.
Published Version
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