The €580 million cost to the State each year of treating the most common form of diabetes could be significantly cut by Government investment, a seminar heard today.
Delegates at the seminar on the role of the community pharmacist in chronic disease management heard that the "conservative estimate" of the cost of treating Type 2 diabetes represents some 6.4 per cent of total healthcare expenditure.
IPU president Michael Guckian
Professor John Nolan, Consultant in Endocrinology and Metabolism at St. James's Hospital, carried out the study.
He said the cost of such treatment each year could be "significantly reduced through investment by Government in the prevention of diabetes and diabetes-related complications".
The Irish Pharmaceutical Union (IPU), which organised the event, called on the Government to expand the role of pharmacists to include the management of chronic diseases to benefit patients and to make cost savings for the State.
IPU president Michael Guckian said: "The reality is that patients with chronic diseases are losing out because pharmacists, as healthcare professionals, are not being utilised to their full potential within the healthcare system.
Mr Guckian said chronic diseases, like diabetes and cardiovascular disease, cost the Government 6 per cent of GDP to treat. "This cost to the State could be significantly reduced if pharmacists were involved in their management."
Prof Nolan added: "Diabetes is a worldwide problem and is not going to go away. The reality is that there is evidence to suggest that the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes could be as great if not greater than that of diagnosed diabetes."
An estimated 194 million people worldwide had diabetes in 2003, and it is predicted this will rise by 71 per cent in 2025 to 333 million.