Fairygodmother
Well-Known Member
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- Type of diabetes
- Type 1
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- Insulin
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My understanding is that surgeries are required to conduct medication reviews, and have penalties if they do not do so. I think they are also prevented from continuing the prescription if a review to too overdue.
Reviews are also necessary to check that the prescription is still appropriate, and not wasting NHS resources.
I know on the face of it, a T1 is always going to need insulin, but there is so much more to take into account. A medication review allows the surgery to see that how the patient is doing, and allows an assessment of the whole situation. It is an opportunity for the patient to make requests for changes, discuss issues (such as whether all those lancets are really necessary), and is a way for the surgery to 'prove' that they haven't just let a patient disappear for years with a potentially lethal medication with no monitoring at all. Remember, they are not always informed of every decision made by a consultant or clinic.
Reviews are built into the NICE guidelines
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qs120/chapter/quality-statement-6-structured-medication-review
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/wp-content/u...CCG-Medication-Review-Practice-Guide-2014.pdf
https://ebpcooh.org.uk/get-your-medicines-reviewed/
I agree that it’s very important to keep an eye on how patients are doing. The review is often a time to look at overall health, suggest approaches, keep up with new developments, change insulins, and all the stuff a good DSN or doctor will be keeping an eye on. In this instance though it seems very drastic to have denied a T1 their insulin. Without a little more background information it’s hard to comment on the absolute rights and wrongs of the case.
Personally I’d be relieved if any T1 related health niggles caused the DSN to want to see me to help resolve them.