Diabetes mellitus is now recognized as a societal disease that significantly burden health care systems in highly developed as well as developing countries and constitutes a serious problem of public health world-wide. The aim of this study was to estimate the value of reimbursement of diabetes-related drugs in 2012 and 2013 and to analyze indirect costs generated by diabetes in Poland in 2012.
It was revealed that reimbursement of glucose test strips, antidiabetic drugs and insulins covered by the National Health Fund was as high as 1.3 billion PLN in 2012 and 1.5 billion PLN in 2013 and the dominant cost drivers were glucose test strips (49% of costs in 2012 and 52% of costs in 2013) and insulins (40% and 38% of total reimbursement costs due to diabetes, respectively).
Total indirect costs of diabetes type 1 and type 2 in 2012 were as high as 59 million PLN and 66,5 million PLN and absenteeism due to sick leave was a main cost driver (61% in diabetes type 1 and 95% in diabetes type 2, respectively).
In summary, costs associated with diabetes constitute a serious burden for the National Health Fund as well as for the Social Insurance Institution in Poland.
