UK May Be Under-using Cholesterol-lowering Statins and Tight Management of Diabetes, Report Suggests
Wider use of several innovative medicines would enable the UK National Health Service (NHS) to save tens of thousands of lives and treat more than 100,000 additional patients per year benefiting not only the NHS but the broader economy, according to a comprehensive study released by NERA Economic Consulting.
Commissioned by the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), the NERA report, The Human and Economic Value of Pharmaceutical Innovation and Opportunities for the NHS, provides a comprehensive look at the impact of coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes medicines and treatment strategies on the NHS and the UK as a whole.
According to the report, prescribing cholesterol-lowering statins to treat coronary heart disease has already saved some 6,000 lives. Yet the UK rates 10th in Europe in its use of statins. The UK had a rate of nearly 24 daily doses per 1,000 covered population from 1997 to 2002, compared with the top rate of 59 doses per 1,000 in Norway between 1997 and 2001.
Increasing statin use from its current levels could save an additional 14,000 lives over five years.
The other half of the report explores the benefits of diabetes treatment strategies. It projects dramatic savings in NHS resources if all UK patients with the disease were treated via "tight management" - the combination of medicines with lifestyle modifications. Tight management of all diabetic patients in the health care system could save some 380,000 hospital bed days a year, enabling the NHS to treat an extra 78,000 patients per year by 2007.
Only between 100,000 and 150,000 patients in the UK right now - about 11% of the total population of people with diabetes - are under tight management for their diabetes, according to the report.
Without tight management the study projects diabetes to produce a loss to employers of some 9 million workdays or £650 million a year by 2027. Meanwhile, coronary heart disease is forecast to have an even bigger impact on the UK economy, costing up to £7.7 billion per year due to sickness and premature deaths by 2027.
Study authors write that the report demonstrates the importance of increasing access to vital prescription medicines. "Most stakeholders in health care view innovation as favourable, but there are potential conflicts, most commonly with cost containment . . . What is clear, however, is that innovation has delivered significant value to the health system."
The NERA report has been well received within the health care community. Sir Michael Hirst, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Diabetes UK, said: "Diabetes UK welcomes the NERA report, and fully endorses the view that changes in lifestyle and medicines have a critical role to play in the effective, long-term management of diabetes. Quality patient care can significantly reduce the associated health risks for patients, and subsequently relieve the burden on the NHS. As such, it is essential that the healthcare profession are up to date with the innovation of treatment options available."
For the full text of the study, visit the NERA website at www.nera.com.
About NERA
NERA Economic Consulting is an international firm of economists who understand how markets work. NERA''s clients include corporations, governments, law firms, regulatory agencies, trade associations and international agencies. The firm''s global team of 500 professionals operates in 16 offices across North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
NERA economists devise practical solutions to highly complex business and legal issues arising from competition, regulation, public policy, strategy, finance and litigation. Their more than 40 years of practical experience creating strategies, studies, reports, expert testimony and policy recommendations reflects their specialization in industrial and financial economics.
NERA has a dedicated health and pharmaceutical team drawing on specialists from the Europe and the US working on a variety of areas including health reform, health sector modelling, pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement, economic evaluation, intellectual property and strategic advice.
NERA Economic Consulting, founded in 1961 as National Economic Research Associates, is a Marsh & McLennan company. Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) is a global professional services firm with annual revenues exceeding $11 billion.