Evaluation of the incremental cost to the National Health Service of prescribing analogue insulin

Holden, Sarah E., Poole, Christopher David, Morgan, Christopher L. and Currie, Craig John 2011. Evaluation of the incremental cost to the National Health Service of prescribing analogue insulin. British Medical Journal Open 1 (2) , e000258. 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000258

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Abstract

Introduction Insulin analogues have become increasingly popular despite their greater cost compared with human insulin. The aim of this study was to calculate the incremental cost to the National Health Service (NHS) of prescribing analogue insulin preparations instead of their human insulin alternatives. Methods Open-source data from the four UK prescription pricing agencies from 2000 to 2009 were analysed. Cost was adjusted for inflation and reported in UK pounds at 2010 prices. Results Over the 10-year period, the NHS spent a total of £2732 million on insulin. The total annual cost increased from £156 million to £359 million, an increase of 130%. The annual cost of analogue insulin increased from £18.2 million (12% of total insulin cost) to £305 million (85% of total insulin cost), whereas the cost of human insulin decreased from £131 million (84% of total insulin cost) to £51 million (14% of total insulin cost). If it is assumed that all patients using insulin analogues could have received human insulin instead, the overall incremental cost of analogue insulin was £625 million. Conclusion Given the high marginal cost of analogue insulin, adherence to prescribing guidelines recommending the preferential use of human insulin would have resulted in considerable financial savings over the period.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Subjects:	R Medicine > R Medicine (General)
Additional Information:	9 pp. Pdf uploaded in accordance with publisher's policy at http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/issn/2044-6055/ (accessed 27/02/2014)
Publisher:	British Medical Journal Publishing Group
ISSN:	2044-6055
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	02 Jun 2023 18:53
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/27868

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