Dive Brief:
- In the UK, 2/3 of patients with diabetes do not achieve target treatment goals related to controlling blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, according to a new report.
- There is large regional variation across the UK with respect to patients meeting treatment targets.
- There is also a large variation in the provision of National Health Service (NHS)-endorsed health checks across the region.
Dive Insight:
The findings from Public Health England's (PHE) report are worrisome to advocacy groups such as Diabetes UK and others. One major concern is that patients in some regions are receiving much better care than patients in other regions, resulting in a large variation in the percentage of people meeting treatment targets.
Overall, the average share of diabetics meeting treatment goals is 36%, and the highest is 48%, meaning that even in best-case situations, less than half of patients with diabetes are meeting their targets. The downside of not meeting treatment targets is serious, with potential complications such as blindness, amputation, kidney failure, and ultimately, early death.
Experts estimate that as many of 10% of people in England could have diabetes by 2034, and PHE says it is determined to advocate on behalf of patients with diabetes to improve treatment adherence and access.