The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7213 p278-281
31 August 2002

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  Needle exchange
  Product names
  EHC
  Remuneration
  Compliance
  Type 2 diabetes
  The Profession
  Modernisation
  The Society

Letters to the Editor

Type 2 diabetes

Early detection saves money

From Mr J. Benouaich, MRPharmS

It is all very well to worry about the expense incurred by more people claiming medical exemptions for payment of prescription charges on the basis of their "newly diagnosed" diabetes. However the MeReC Bulletin (July 2002) says: "... it is likely that hundreds of thousands of people have undiagnosed type II diabetes." If these hundreds of thousands of people remain undiagnosed, the cost of their treatment in the future when the complications of diabetes become irreversible, eg, stroke, renal failure, will be much higher than the cost of exempting them now when the damage is still reversible after early diagnosis.

To exempt or not to exempt certain people with diabetes from prescription charges is a question that has to be tackled, but "tracking" these hundreds of thousands of people with undiagnosed type II diabetes should be a priority. Big savings to the National Health Service will be made if the disease is detected early.

Jacob Benouaich
Manchester

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