Push for greater diabetes type 2 drugs access

Many type 2 diabetes patients are missing out on critical cholesterol-lowering drugs because they have not been eligible to purchase them through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), say senior Melbourne researchers.

Long overdue changes to the PBS subsidy criteria would potentially help 93% of all diabetic patients who regularly see a general practitioner (GP), says associate professor Merlin Thomas, of the Baker Heart Research Institute, Melbourne. But more needed to be done, he says, in the way of clinical management to ensure all patients receive the treatment necessary to manage their condition.

Assoc Prof Thomas and Dr Paul Nestel, head of the Baker Heart Research Institute, evaluated existing data to determine how often type 2 diabetes patients were receiving lipid lowering medication through their GP.

Their results are published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia (a publication of the Australian Medical Association) and found that 64% of patients were receiving the cholesterol treatment, and that few of the untreated patients were eligible for the medication through the PBS.

Assoc Prof.Thomas said: “It should be acknowledged that achieving these goals can be difficult, particularly in patients with obesity, elderly patients, and those with chronic kidney disease, who make up the majority of Australians with type 2 diabetes.

The changes to PBS eligibility criteria for lipid lowering drugs will substantially improve coverage in patients with diabetes, with almost all high-risk patients now having unrestricted access. If nearly two thirds of these patients can also maintain their cholesterol [level], then the cost of these changes will be saved many times over.”