The use of modern delivery devices is known to improve patient acceptance and help overcome various barriers to insulin therapy. In addition, patients overwhelmingly prefer insulin pens to vial and syringe and this is associated with improved compliance. Clinical studies have demonstrated that, by comparison with vials and syringes, patients find that insulin pens offer greater lifestyle flexibility, are faster to use, easier to read and are more portable. This makes it easier to comply with insulin regimens and greater compliance is likely to contribute to better disease control in the long term.
Building patients' confidence in their ability to control blood glucose levels also aids compliance and increasing confidence has been linked to trust in the accuracy of the device. Prefilled insulin pens and durable insulin pens can provide accurate dose delivery.
Taken together, good compliance and accuracy of dosing are associated with good metabolic control and reduced risk of hypoglycaemic events.
Health economics implications of improved compliance
Improved compliance can result in cost savings for payers
In their analysis of third-party managed care claims for patients with type 2 diabetes, Lee et al., found that switching from a vial and syringe to an insulin pen significantly improved compliance, reduced incidence of hypoglycaemic events, and resulted in fewer visits to hospitals and/or general practitioners. In this pre - post analysis, the overall effect of switching to an insulin pen was to reduce annual healthcare costs by approximately 10%.