by Colin Kenny, GP, Dromore
New figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre showed that within all medicine prescribing in primary care in England. the proportion spent on treating diabetes rose from just 6.6% in 2005–06 to 9.5% in 2013–14, having increased each year. The figures were detailed in Prescribing for Diabetes, a new report that also documented a marked rise in the incidence of diabetes as recorded in Quality of Outcomes Framework data.
Analysis of the data reveals that a major driver of the increased costs are analogue insulins. Spending on sulphonylureas and metformin is increasing slightly, while on thiazolidinediones it is decreasing. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors are all increasing in prescribing costs, but not all at the same rate, reflecting differences in the emergence of their availability.
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