Doctors to have new cholesterol indicators for diabetes

Tue, 10 Jan 2012
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to launch a new scheme for measuring cholesterol levels for people with diabetes, based on new Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) indicators. The organisation is introducing the new indicators as a way of promoting better control of cholesterol for diabetics as they more tightly define the level of treatment that GPs are able to deliver.

The piloting for the indicators, which is expected to come into operation throughout the country next year, is to help improve clinical incentives as a practical alternative to just basing them around hard outcomes.

Doctors will be expected to start a moderate dose of generic statin within 90 days of cholesterol being found to be over than 4.0 mmol/l within the previous year in a diabetic patient. This move will be to help them manage to hit a specific target for effective lipid management for type 2 diabetes patients over the age of 40.

For patients already taking statins, their dose will be probably be increased to 90 days from a cholesterol reading of over 4.0 mmol/l, and if there is maintained at a high level, the indicator rewards switching statins. In addition, the target will be achieved if a cholesterol reading is 4.0 mmol/l or less within the previous year.
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