Low levels of adherence and persistence remain barriers to reducing costs of diabetes complications: IMS

Despite improved diagnosis and advances in treatment options for individuals with type 2 diabetes, sub-optimal therapy adherence and persistence result in significant economic and societal burden as well as avoidable patient complications in six diverse healthcare systems around the world, according to a new report series by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

Disease complications account for an estimated 61%–80% of type 2 diabetes-related costs in the countries studied, with 4%–15% of costs linked to poor adherence and persistence. Effective patient activation - how well people understand their role in the care process along with their ability and willingness to actively manage their own health and care - is key to deriving greater value from existing diabetes treatments.

The report series - Improving Type 2 Diabetes Therapy Adherence and Persistence: How to Address Avoidable Economic and Societal Burden - analyzes the unique epidemiology, local healthcare dynamics and drivers for adherence and persistence in Brazil, Germany, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the UK and the USA. Avoidable type 2 diabetes costs due to diabetes-related complications were determined using IMS Health’s CORE Diabetes Model, a validated, peer-reviewed algorithm that simulates clinical outcomes and costs for cohorts of people with the condition.