GP's are to be told to use old types of medications for T2

forty six · Mar 14, 2015

Did anyone else catch this story today in the Daily Mail.

GP's will be told by NICE that they are to stop prescribing the newer types of diabetes meds as they are too expensive.

The ones they are going to be told to use are repaglinide and pioglitazone which are apparently rarely prescribed and linked to weight gain and ‘hypos’.

Any political party that commits to getting rid of NICE will have my vote!

AndBreathe · Mar 14, 2015

The NICE guidelines have been out for comment for some time now, so this isn't new news; albeit very uncomfortable news.

forty six · Mar 14, 2015

I must admit that due to work and family commitments I have been out of the loop for a while so did not see this mentioned anywhere until today. Slightly concerning as I already have problems getting my GP's practice to listen.

Oh well prepare for some changes then.

graj0 · Mar 16, 2015

forty six said:
Did anyone else catch this story today in the Daily Mail.

GP's will be told by NICE that they are to stop prescribing the newer types of diabetes meds as they are too expensive.

The ones they are going to be told to use are repaglinide and pioglitazone which are apparently rarely prescribed and linked to weight gain and ‘hypos’.

Any political party that commits to getting rid of NICE will have my vote!

As the victim of Rosiglitazone, now thankfully withdrawn from the market, but closely related to pioglitazone, this news beggars belief. Pioglitazone has been withdrawn in France and Germany because of the high risk of bladder cancer and even in the U.S. it carries a health warning that using for more than a year there is a risk of bladder cancer.

The only good thing about NICE is that they recommend to GPs that any drug they prescribe must be done with the agreement of the patient. So, we just have to make sure patients are aware of the issues and also that they have the right (for want of a better word) to refuse any drug prescribed.

I've noticed that Metformin doesn't seem to be automatically prescribed in the Sustained Release/eXtended Release versions. It would seem that you have put up with the worst diarrhea imaginable before the GP will prescribe the substantially more expensive versions. That in itself is a con because it's not rocket science, they just add a gum to slow things down.

forty six · Mar 16, 2015

graj0 said:
As the victim of Rosiglitazone, now thankfully withdrawn from the market, but closely related to pioglitazone, this news beggars belief. Pioglitazone has been withdrawn in France and Germany because of the high risk of bladder cancer and even in the U.S. it carries a health warning that using for more than a year there is a risk of bladder cancer.

The only good thing about NICE is that they recommend to GPs that any drug they prescribe must be done with the agreement of the patient. So, we just have to make sure patients are aware of the issues and also that they have the right (for want of a better word) to refuse any drug prescribed.

I've noticed that Metformin doesn't seem to be automatically prescribed in the Sustained Release/eXtended Release versions. It would seem that you have put up with the worst diarrhea imaginable before the GP will prescribe the substantially more expensive versions. That in itself is a con because it's not rocket science, they just add a gum to slow things down.

Not only are they not allowed to prescribe the MetforminSR straight away but every time my GP repeats my prescription they have to override the system as it won't print a prescription for SR without permission of the practice manager. My GP qualified in 1978 and she now needs the permission of a non clinical person to print and sign a prescription. However if she was prescribing statins the system would do it without problem. Which one makes the practice money?

graj0 · Mar 16, 2015

forty six said:
Not only are they not allowed to prescribe the MetforminSR straight away but every time my GP repeats my prescription they have to override the system as it won't print a prescription for SR without permission of the practice manager. My GP qualified in 1978 and she now needs the permission of a non clinical person to print and sign a prescription. However if she was prescribing statins the system would do it without problem. Which one makes the practice money?

That's just obscene. As much as I appreciate that it's good practice to look after the pennies, prescribing SR/XR is done for a reason, simply put, the ordinary cheap stuff has you going to the bathroom god knows how many times a day. In my case it actually affected my ability to work, as someone who used to present to prospects and train customers, rushing off to the loo at a moments notice didn't earn me any browny points. Ieven withdrew from social circles because I was so scared of being caught short.

Sorry, gone on too long, it's all in the past anyway.

KPJ · Mar 19, 2015

forty six said:
Did anyone else catch this story today in the Daily Mail.

GP's will be told by NICE that they are to stop prescribing the newer types of diabetes meds as they are too expensive.

The ones they are going to be told to use are repaglinide and pioglitazone which are apparently rarely prescribed and linked to weight gain and ‘hypos’.

Any political party that commits to getting rid of NICE will have my vote!

My diabetic nurse reduced my metformin from 4 a day to 2 a day great I thought things must be improving, until 2 other people I know hade the same experience from their nurse. Is this a way of cost cutting in the NHS ? KPJ

GP's are to be told to use old types of medications for T2

forty six

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GP's are to be told to use old types of medications for T2

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