Clinical Outcome and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of CSII Versus MDI in Children and Adolescent With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in a Public Health Care System of China

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the clinical and economic consequences of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) vs. multiple daily injections (MDI) in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) from a public health care system in developed areas of developing country, considering changes in glycemic Control, daily insulin requirements, lipid profile, body mass index (BMI), frequency of severe hypoglycemia and Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) and diabetic complications.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of children and adolescents with T1DM. Data were collected at baseline and the end of every year including glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin dose, lipid profile, blood pressure, and adverse events (severe hypoglycemia and DKA). The Cost-effectiveness analysis was performed using the IQVIA CORE Diabetes Model (CDM) to simulate diabetes progression by utilizing the clinical data obtained from the two groups. The main outcome measures were Life Expectancy, Quality adjusted life years (QALYs), Total Costs and Incremental Costs and Effectiveness Ratio (ICER) of CSII compared with MDI in Chinese pediatric patients with T1DM in Qingdao City (60 years).

RESULTS

Mean HbA1c values and daily insulin doses were significantly lower in those receiving CSII therapy throughout follow-up. Mean direct lifetime costs were ¥ 67,137 higher with CSII treatment than with MDI for pediatric patients. Treatment with CSII was associated with an improvement in life expectancy of 0.41 years for pediatric patients compared with MDI based on CORE diabetes model simulation. The corresponding gains in QALYs were 0.42. These data produced corresponding ICER is ¥ 161,815 per QALY for pediatric T1DM patients in Qingdao. Sensitivity analyses suggested that our base-case assumptions were mostly robust.

CONCLUSIONS

CSII is associated with improved long-term clinical outcomes compared with MDI. Based on this model analysis, CSII appears to be more cost-effective for the Qingdao TIDM pediatric population and health care system.

Bariatric surgery for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus requiring insulin: Clinical outcome and cost-effectiveness analyses

BACKGROUND

Although bariatric surgery is well established as an effective treatment for patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), there exists reluctance to increase its availability for patients with severe T2DM. The aims of this study were to examine the impact of bariatric surgery on T2DM resolution in patients with obesity and T2DM requiring insulin (T2DM-Ins) using data from a national database and to develop a health economic model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of surgery in this cohort when compared to best medical treatment (BMT).

METHODS AND FINDINGS

Clinical data from the National Bariatric Surgical Registry (NBSR), a comprehensive database of bariatric surgery in the United Kingdom, were extracted to analyse outcomes of patients with obesity and T2DM-Ins who underwent primary bariatric surgery between 2009 and 2017. Outcomes for this group were combined with data sourced from a comprehensive literature review in order to develop a state-transition microsimulation model to evaluate cost-effectiveness of bariatric surgery versus BMT for patients over a 5-year time horizon. The main outcome measure for the clinical study was insulin cessation at 1-year post-surgery: relative risks (RR) summarising predictive factors were determined, unadjusted, and after adjusting for variables including age, initial body mass index (BMI), duration of T2DM, and weight loss. Main outcome measures for the economic evaluation were total costs, total quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) at willingness-to-pay threshold of GBP£20,000. A total of 2,484 patients were eligible for inclusion, of which 1,847 had 1-year follow-up data (mean age of 51 years, mean initial BMI 47.2 kg/m2, and 64% female). 67% of patients no longer required insulin at 1-year postoperatively: these rates persisted for 4 years. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) was associated with a higher rate of insulin cessation (71.7%) than sleeve gastrectomy (SG; 64.5%; RR 0.92, confidence interval (CI) 0.86-0.99) and adjustable gastric band (AGB; 33.6%; RR 0.45, CI 0.34-0.60; p < 0.001). When adjusted for percentage total weight loss and demographic variables, insulin cessation following surgery was comparable for RYGB and SG (RR 0.97, CI 0.90-1.04), with AGB having the lowest cessation rates (RR 0.55, CI 0.40-0.74; p < 0.001). Over 5 years, bariatric surgery was cost saving compared to BMT (total cost GBP£22,057 versus GBP£26,286 respectively, incremental difference GBP£4,229). This was due to lower treatment costs as well as reduced diabetes-related complications costs and increased health benefits. Limitations of this study include loss to follow-up of patients within the NBSR dataset and that the time horizon for the economic analysis is limited to 5 years. In addition, the study reflects current medical and surgical treatment regimens for this cohort of patients, which may change.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, we observed that in patients with obesity and T2DM-Ins, bariatric surgery was associated with high rates of postoperative cessation of insulin therapy, which is, in turn, a major driver of overall reductions in direct healthcare cost. Our findings suggest that a strategy utilising bariatric surgery for patients with obesity and T2DM-Ins is cost saving to the national healthcare provider (National Health Service (NHS)) over a 5-year time horizon.

The Association Between Adherence to Insulin Therapy and Health Care Costs for Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: Evidence from a U.S. Retrospective Claims Database

BACKGROUND

Research has shown that many patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are not adherent to their medication regimen.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between adherence to insulin therapy and all-cause health care costs for patients with T2D.

METHODS

This study used the IQVIA PharMetrics Plus Linkable to Ambulatory Electronic Medical Record data from January 1, 2012, through September 30, 2017. Patients were included if they were identified with T2D and initiated therapy on basal insulin (BAS) or basal-bolus (BAS-BOL) combination at any time from January 1, 2013, through October 1, 2016. Patients aged < 18 years, who used an insulin pump, identified as pregnant, or did not have continuous insurance coverage from 1 year before initiation on insulin therapy through 1 year after initiation were excluded. Descriptive statistics compared patient characteristics and costs (in U.S. 2017 dollars) between patients who were adherent or nonadherent to their insulin therapy in the 1-year postperiod, where adherence was defined as having proportion of days covered (PDC) of at least 80%. In addition, generalized linear models were used to compare costs between adherent and nonadherent patients, while controlling for patient characteristics, previous general health and comorbidities, resource utilization, medication use and type of insulin.

RESULTS

13,296 patients were included in the BAS cohort (5,502 adherent; 7,794 nonadherent) and 10,069 in the BAS-BOL cohort (2,006 adherent; 8,063 nonadherent). Adherent patients had significantly lower all-cause total unadjusted costs following initiation on BAS ($29,322 vs. $31,888, P = 0.0134) and BAS-BOL combination ($36,229 vs. $40,147, P = 0.0078). Drug costs comprised 39.5%-45.4% of costs among adherent patients and 23.0%-25.9% of costs among nonadherent patients. Multivariable analyses revealed that adherent patients had significantly lower adjusted all-cause total costs than nonadherent patients in the BAS cohort ($30,127 vs. $37,049, 95% CI for difference -$8,460 to -$5,384) and the BAS-BOL cohort ($36,603 vs. $44,702, 95% CI for difference -$9,129 to -$6,980).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with T2D who initiated BAS or BAS-BOL combination therapy, adherence was associated with significantly lower all-cause total health care costs, despite significantly higher drug costs. These results illustrate the potential economic benefits associated with adherence to insulin therapy. DISCLOSURES": Eli Lilly and Company funded this study and was responsible for study design and execution. Bajpai, Eby, Faries, and Haynes are employees and own stock in Eli Lilly and Company. Lage received compensation from Eli Lilly and Company for her work on this research project.

Budget impact analysis for dapagliflozin in type 2 diabetes in Egypt

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major health problem in Egypt with a high impact on morbidity, mortality, and healthcare resources. This study evaluated the budget impact and the long-term consequences of dapagliflozin versus other conventional medications, as monotherapy, from both the societal and health insurance perspectives in Egypt.Methods: A static budget impact model was developed to estimate the financial consequences of adopting dapagliflozin on the healthcare payer budget. We measured the direct medical costs of dapagliflozin (new scenario) as monotherapy, compared to metformin, insulin, sulphonylurea, dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors, thiazolidinedione, and repaglinide (old scenarios) over a time horizon of 3 years. Myocardial infarction (MI), ischemic stroke, hospitalization for heart failure (HHF), and initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT) rates were captured from DECLARE TIMI 58 trial. One-way sensitivity analyses were conducted.Results: The budget impact model estimated 2,053,908 patients eligible for treatment with dapagliflozin from a societal perspective and 1,207,698 patients from the health insurance (HI) perspective. The new scenario allows for an initial savings of EGP121 million in the first year, which increased to EGP243 and EGP365 million in the second and third years, respectively. The total cumulative savings from a societal perspective were estimated at EGP731 million. Dapagliflozin allows for savings of EGP71, EGP143, and EGP215 million in the first, second and third years respectively, from the HI perspective, with total cumulative savings of EGP430 million over the 3 years.Conclusion: Treating T2DM patients using dapagliflozin instead of conventional medications, maximizes patients' benefits and decreases total costs due to drug cost offsets from fewer cardiovascular and renal events. The adoption of dapagliflozin is a budget-saving treatment option, resulting in substantial population-level health gains due to reduced event rate and cost savings from the perspective of the national healthcare system.

The cost-effectiveness of insulin analogs and regular insulin for diabetes control: a case study in Iran

PURPOSE

For years, traditional techniques have been used for diabetes treatment. There are two major types of insulin: insulin analogs and regular insulin. Insulin analogs are similar to regular insulin and lead to changes in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. The purpose of the present research was to determine the cost-effectiveness of insulin analogs versus regular insulin for diabetes control in Yazd Diabetes Center in 2017.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH

In this descriptive-analytical research, the cost-effectiveness index was used to compare insulin analogs and regular insulin (pen/vial) for treatment of diabetes. Data were analyzed in the TreeAge Software and a decision tree was constructed. A 10% discount rate was used for ICER sensitivity analysis. Cost-effectiveness was examined from a provider's perspective.

FINDINGS

QALY was calculated to be 0.2 for diabetic patients using insulin analogs and 0.05 for those using regular insulin. The average cost was $3.228 for analog users and $1.826 for regular insulin users. An ICER of $0.093506/QALY was obtained. The present findings suggest that insulin analogs are more cost-effective than regular insulin.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE

This study was conducted using a cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate insulin analogs versus regular insulin in controlling diabetes. The results of study are helpful to the government to allocate more resources to apply the cost-effective method of the treatment and to protect patients with diabetes from the high cost of treatment.

Health-related quality of life and health utilities in insulin-treated type 2 diabetes: the impact of related comorbidities/complications

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of multiple comorbidities/complications on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and health utilities in insulin-treated type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

METHODS

In a non-interventional, epidemiological study, data were collected from medical records and via interviews for 938 subjects from various geographical areas of Greece. HRQoL and health utilities were explored with the EQ-5D-5L. Univariate associations were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests for continuous and Chi-squared tests for nominal variables, and binary logistic regressions were employed to obtain marginal effects. Employing a split sample approach, various specifications of ordinary least squares regression models were evaluated in terms of goodness of fit, model specification, shrinkage and predictive and discriminative performance, to select the best model for mapping health utilities using the whole dataset.

RESULTS

Overall, the most important factors of impaired HRQoL and health utilities were higher age, female gender, obesity, poor glycemic control and increased duration of insulin treatment. History and increasing concurrence of all complications assessed were associated with exacerbated HRQoL problems, decreased health utilities and diminished health state, although it was not always statistically significant. The highest disutilities were associated with stroke (- 0.082), diabetic retinopathy (- 0.066), diabetic neuropathy (- 0.051) and severe hypoglycemia (- 0.050).

CONCLUSIONS

The deleterious impact of comorbidities on insulin-dependent T2DM subjects' HRQoL has been confirmed and clinicians should adapt the priorities of disease management accordingly. The derived health utility estimates may be valuable for conducting economic evaluations of interventions in the area of T2DM when data are not available.

An Assessment of Glycaemic Control and Modes of Health Financing among Type 2 Diabetic Patients Attending a Teaching Hospital in South-western Nigeria

BACKGROUND

Type 2 diabetes mellitus can be a major drain on resources due to lifelong treatment and risk of catastrophic expenditure from treatment of complications. The prevalence has been projected to rise to alarming levels in developing countries. This study aimed to assess the levels of, and associations between good glycaemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes and their modes of financing healthcare.

METHODS

In this hospital based descriptive cross-sectional study, 260 patients being managed for type 2 diabetes at the outpatient clinics of Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos were recruited by systematic random sampling method. All participants received a HBA1C test to assess glycaemic control and a composite interviewer administered questionnaire adapted from the MMAS-8 and diabetes care profile to assess medication adherence, modes of financing and other factors related to disease management.

RESULTS

Of the 260 study participants, 34.62% (90) had good glycaemic control. In the mode of health care financing only 15% (39) paid by health insurance (NHIS), while 85% of the respondents' payment was by out-of-pocket (OOP) payment. About half of these OOP payments were made by family, friends and others (in this study, a proxy for informal means of pooling finances). Significant associations were found between glycaemic control and adherence (2 13.93, p=0.001), glycaemic control and mode of payment (2 15.30, p=0.0000) and also adherence and mode of payment (2 16.59, p =0.002).

CONCLUSION

In this study, only about a third of patients with type 2 diabetes achieved good glycaemic control, most patients used OOP financing and patients with OOP financing had poorer adherence and poorer glycaemic control. There is a need to scale up health insurance to improve health outcomes in diabetes management and protect people in developing countries from the burden of health care costs of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes.

Management of adult patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus in Africa: A post-hoc cohort analysis of 12 African countries participating in the International Diabetes Management Practices Study (Wave 7)

There is a paucity of information on real world management of African adult patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). We aimed to describe a cohort of African adults with T1DM.The International Diabetes Management Practices Study is an observational survey conducted from 2005 to 2017. Data were collected in seven individual waves from countries in Asia, Africa, East Europe, and Latin America. Wave 7 was conducted from 2016 to 2017 and the African cohort included 12 countries. Questionnaires were administered to clinicians and patients. Analyses were mainly descriptive. Logistic regressions were performed to identify predictive factors for glycaemic control.A total of 788 patients were enrolled in the study. HbA1c values were available for 712 patients; only 16.6% had HbA1c values <7%. A total of 196 (24.9%) reported being hospitalized in the preceding year, with the most common reasons being diabetic ketoacidosis (58.1%, 93/160) and hypoglycaemia (31.1%; 52/167). Over half of the patients (55.4%) stated that the cost of test strips limited regular glycemic monitoring; a minority of patients (15%, 120/788) received structured diabetes education. Predictors of HbA1c <7% included patients receiving diabetes education (odds ratio [OR] [95% confidence interval, CI] = 2.707 [1.157-6.335] P = .022), following a healthy diet and exercise plan (OR [95% CI] = 2.253 [1.206-4.209], P < .001) and self-managing (monitoring glucose levels and adjusting insulin accordingly) (OR [95% CI] 2.508 [1.500-4.191] P < .001).African adults with T1DM have suboptimal glycemic control with almost one-quarter reporting hospitalization within the preceding year. Most patients felt comfortable with self-adjustment of insulin dose but said that the cost of test strips was the main factor that limited regular monitoring. Reducing direct costs of testing strips and insulin, and improving education will address major challenges within these settings.

Prediction of medical expenditures of diagnosed diabetics and the assessment of its related factors using a random forest model, MEPS 2000-2015

OBJECTIVE

To predict the medical expenditures of individual diabetics and assess the related factors of it.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Cross-sectional study.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

Data were collected from the US household component of the medical expenditure panel survey, 2000-2015.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Random forest (RF) model was performed with the programs of randomForest in R software. Spearman correlation coefficients (rs), mean absolute error (MAE) and mean-related error (MRE) was computed to assess the prediction of all the models.

RESULTS

Total medical expenditure was increased from $105 Billion in 2000 to $318 Billion in 2015. rs, MAE and MRE between the predicted and actual values of medical expenditures in RF model were 0.644, $0.363 and 0.043%. Top one factor in prediction was being treated by the insulin, followed by type of insurance, employment status, age and economical level. The latter four variables had no impact in predicting of medical expenditure by being treated by the insulin. Further, after the sub-analysis of gender and age-groups, the evaluating indicators of prediction were almost identical to each other. Top five variables of total medical expenditure among male were same as those among all the diabetics. Expenses for doctor visits, hospital stay and drugs were also predicted with RF model well. Treatment with insulin was the top one factor of total medical expenditure among female, 18-, 25- and 65-age-groups. Additionally, it indicated that RF model was little superior to traditional regression model.

CONCLUSIONS

RF model could be used in prediction of medical expenditure of diabetics and assessment of its related factors well.

Use of more expensive insulin despite guidelines in Brazil

AIM

To verify if the guidelines are being followed for the treatment of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) who receive insulin by lawsuits.

METHODS

A descriptive study was conducted with secondary data of these patients in a Brazilian city.

RESULTS

53.9% acquired insulin by lawsuits without previously registered use of another insulin in the Public Health System (SUS).

CONCLUSION

The guidelines are not being followed for most patients analyzed, which may result in unnecessary expenses for the SUS. Therefore, this data can support the awareness of prescribers in relation to the savings generated for municipalities through the follow-up of the guidelines.

Origins of the Crisis in Insulin Affordability and Practical Advice for Clinicians on Using Human Insulin

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

High insulin prices and cost-related insulin underuse are increasingly common and vexing problems for healthcare providers. This review highlights several factors that contribute to high prices and limited generic competition in the US insulin market.

RECENT FINDINGS

An opaque and complex pricing and reimbursement system for insulin, allegations of collusive practices by insulin manufacturers, and a lack of generic competition drive and sustain high insulin prices. When combined with increasing insurance deductibles and cost sharing, these factors contribute to cost-related insulin underuse and are associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Healthcare providers facing patients with type 2 diabetes who struggle to afford insulin should consider initiating or switching from analogue to human insulin as one way to help address the challenges of access and affordability. However, it is also important to support initiatives to advocate for affordable pricing for insulin for patients who can benefit from the flexibility offered by many of the newer insulin preparations.

Cost-Effectiveness of Sensor-Augmented Insulin Pump Therapy Versus Continuous Insulin Infusion in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes in Turkey

Background and Aims: Sensor-augmented pump therapy (SAP) combines continuous glucose monitoring with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII). SAP is costlier than CSII but provides additional clinical benefits relative to CSII alone. A long-term cost-effectiveness analysis was performed to determine whether SAP is cost-effective relative to CSII in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) in Turkey. Methods: Analyses were performed in two different patient cohorts, one with poor glycemic control at baseline (mean glycated hemoglobin 9.0% [75 mmol/mol]) and a second cohort considered to be at increased risk of hypoglycemic events. Clinical input data and direct medical costs were sourced from published literature. The analysis was performed from a third-party payer perspective over patient lifetimes and future costs and clinical outcomes were discounted at 3.5% per annum. Results: In both patient cohorts, SAP was associated with a gain in quality-adjusted life expectancy but higher costs relative to CSII (incremental gain of 1.40 quality-adjusted life years [QALYs] in patients with poor baseline glycemic control and 1.73 QALYs in patients at increased risk of hypoglycemic events). Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios for SAP versus CSII were TRY 76,971 (EUR 11,612) per QALY gained for patients with poor baseline glycemic control and TRY 69,534 (EUR 10,490) per QALY gained for patients at increased risk for hypoglycemia. Conclusions: SAP is associated with improved long-term clinical outcomes versus CSII, and in Turkey, SAP is likely to represent good value for money compared with CSII in T1D patients with poor glycemic control and/or with frequent severe hypoglycemic events.

Documenting and visualising progress towards Universal Health Coverage of insulin and blood glucose test strips for people with diabetes

AIMS

Global governments have committed to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), ensuring access to quality and affordable healthcare for all. This is fundamental for those with type 1 diabetes mellitus, who require daily access to both insulin and blood glucose test strips to survive. This group risks being left behind by global initiatives that fail to consider these particular needs.

METHODS

A questionnaire was distributed to key informants in 37 less-resourced countries. Seven high-income countries were also included for comparison. We drew on a WHO framework developed to assess progress towards UHC to create scales on three dimensions: population covered, services provided and direct costs. A fourth dimension, availability, was added. Results were grouped into six patterns and visually displayed with radar graphs.

RESULTS

65% of the less-resourced national health systems provided insulin, with medians of 67% for service provision (equating to Human Regular and NPH), 55% direct costs covered, and 75% availability. Test strips were only provided in 14% of the less-resourced systems, with medians 42% (less than two strips per day), 76%, and 88% respectively. Six patterns of provision were identified. Progress correlated with income level, yet some low-income countries are achieving provision for insulin and test strips for those enrolled in health insurance schemes.

CONCLUSION

No less-resourced country had even near-complete coverage for insulin, and coverage was worse for test strips. This study demonstrates the utility of this framework which could be developed as a means of tracking progress in meeting the needs of people with diabetes.

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

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.

Effect of V-Go Versus Multiple Daily Injections on Glycemic Control, Insulin Use, and Diabetes Medication Costs Among Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND

Coping with discomfort and the uncertainties of daily adjustments are prominent challenges confronting individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who require multiple daily injections (MDI) of insulin. For this growing population, wearable, disposable devices capable of delivering consistent and sustained doses of basal-bolus therapy may help to alleviate concerns and improve outcomes. However, studies on the comparative effectiveness of new, innovative delivery systems versus MDI on insulin requirements, glycemic control, and health care costs are sparse.

OBJECTIVE

To examine glycemic control, insulin use, and diabetes medication costs for users of the V-Go Wearable Insulin Delivery device compared with MDI insulin therapy among individuals with T2DM in a commercially insured population in the United States.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study queried administrative claims data from the HealthCore Integrated Research Database from July 1, 2011, through July 31, 2017. Cohorts included individuals with T2DM aged 21-80 years either newly initiating V-Go or using MDI for basal/bolus insulin. The date of earliest claim for V-Go prescription fill or for bolus insulin was defined as the index date, depending on the cohort. Previous insulin therapy was required in both cohorts. Baseline hemoglobin A1c (A1c) values were identified during the 6 months before and 15 days after the index date; results closest to 12 months after the index date were selected as follow-up. Insulin use and diabetes medication cost data were examined during the 6 months baseline and the second half of the 1-year follow-up. V-Go and MDI users were 1:1 matched on baseline insulin exposure, A1c level, and other characteristics of interest. Univariate and multivariate tests were used to compare follow-up outcomes.

RESULTS

Matched cohorts included 118 well-balanced pairs (mean age: 56 years; mean baseline A1c: 9.2%). During follow-up, both cohorts experienced improvements in glycemic control relative to baseline (% with A1c ≤ 9%, baseline/follow-up: V-Go 49/69, P < 0.001; MDI 50/60, P = 0.046). With similar baseline insulin prescription fills and diabetes medication costs, V-Go users required fewer insulin prescription fills (mean change: -0.8 vs. +1.8 fills, P < 0.001; -17% vs. +38%); had a smaller increase in diabetes medication costs (mean change in 2016 USD: $341 vs. $1,628, P = 0.012; +10% vs. +47%); and a decrease in insulin total daily dose (mean change in insulin units per day: -29.2 vs. +5.8, P < 0.001; -21% vs. +4%), compared with MDI users, during the last 6 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS

This study was the first to evaluate clinical and economic outcomes associated with the use of V-Go for up to a 1-year follow-up period. Relative to MDI users, V-Go users had similar glycemic control but lower insulin use and lower diabetes medication costs during follow-up. V-Go therapy may provide an opportunity to improve quality measures more cost-effectively in people with T2DM who require basal-bolus therapy.

DISCLOSURES

This study was funded by Valeritas. Nguyen is an employee of Valeritas. Zhou, Grabner, Barron, and Quimbo are employees of HealthCore, which received funding for this study from Valeritas. Raval was an employee of HealthCore at the time the study was conducted. Partial findings from this study were presented at the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 23rd Annual International Meeting; May 19-23, 2018; Baltimore, MD; and the 54th European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting; October 1-5, 2018; Berlin, Germany.