Impact of a reduced error range of SMBG in insulin-treated patients in Germany

Modeling approaches demonstrate that improvement in the accuracy of blood glucose (BG) meters may lead to cost savings. An improvement of accuracy of BG meters on the basis of a reduction in error range from 20% to 5% has been reported to be associated with substantial cost savings in Germany. The aim of this study is to analyze potential cost savings related to a reduction in error range from 20% to 15% and 10% of glucose meters in Germany. The health economic analysis included the number of type 1 diabetic and the number of insulin-treated patients in Germany, the costs for glucose monitoring, a model on the effects of the improvement of accuracy on the impact of severe hypoglycemic episodes, HbA1c, and subsequently myocardial infarctions and the costs of diabetes-related complications in Germany. In the model, a reduction of 1% and 3.5% reduction in severe hypoglycemic episodes, and a 0.14% and 0.28% reduction in HbA1c was included. In type 1 diabetes the savings could be equal to a reduction in health care expenditures of more than €1.0 million (20% vs 15% error range) and €3.4 million (20% vs 10% error range). Respectively, potential savings of more than €6.0 million and €20.1 million were calculated for the group of insulin-treated patients. The model demonstrates that a reduction of error range of BG meters from 20% to 15% and 10% may translate into substantial savings for the German health care system.