August 20, 2020
Old drugs hinder diabetes response
The Diabetes Foundation says New Zealand's reluctance to get new medicines is costing lives.
An audit of primary care in south Auckland over the past 25 years presented to an online diabetes summit yesterday revealed control of blood glucose levels in type 2 diabetes patients has not improved for 10 years, with Māori and Pacific patients having the poorest outcomes.
Foundation chair John Baker says 1300 premature deaths a year could be avoided if modern drugs were available.
"Pharmac controls the spending on drugs, which a lot of people would say is a very good thing, but the flip side of that is we are very slow to get modern medicines which can make an impact on the health of our people," Dr Baker says.
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