- January 22, 2025
Elderly people will not pay anything for medicines - such changes are introduced by the list of free medicines for seniors, which came into force at the beginning of September. Persons over 75 years of age are entitled to free medication. There are more than a thousand medicines on the list. Among them there are three preparations for the treatment of diabetes - metformine and two insulins - long-acting analogues - glargine and detemir.
- Metformine is a widely used and inexpensive medicine, so we do not think that listing has changed anything in terms of use. On the other hand, placing long-acting analogues is a significant step forward - says newsrm.tv prof. Leszek Czupryniak, head of the Clinic of Internal Diseases and Diabetology at the Medical University of Lublin.
Long-acting analogues are the insulins that are safest in terms of the risk of causing hypoglycaemia, i.e. too low sugar levels, which we consider to be a very good solution. We are constantly striving to improve the availability of long-acting analogs for all diabetic patients. Older patients are particularly at risk of diabetes, so we are very happy that they will be able to get these insulin free of charge. It will certainly be beneficial for patients - comments Leszek Czupryniak.
How should an effective treatment of diabetes without compromises look like? The key decision to start treatment with long-acting analogues, at least in the initial period of the list's functioning, will be made by diabetologists. The patient should visit a diabetologist and ask about this possibility of treatment. After some time the prescription will be extended by the family doctor.
Long-acting analogues are reimbursed in patients with type 2 diabetes in two cases. The first one is a patient who has been treated for at least six months with isophane insulin NPH and glycated hemoglobin, but the therapy is ineffective. Another case concerns patients with severe, highly recurrent hypocrheaemia. The same rule also applies to patients over 75 years of age who wish to use the list of medicines marked with the letter "S".
- At the moment, in elderly people, the treatment plan is based on the almost complete elimination of diabetes mellitus. Our interest in using long-acting analogues is not due to the fact that they work harder, because it is still insulin. It is important that analogues are safer and give many times less under-diabetics than traditional human insulin," explains Leszek Czupryniak and adds. - Older patients, especially those who have undergone a stroke or a heart attack, are people for whom this type of insulin is particularly suitable.
In Poland, 2.73 million people suffer from diabetes.
