Support for updated QOF diabetes targets

The new QOF targets for HbA_1c and NICE guidance have improved diabetes care, according to a survey by Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca.

    Almost half of the 200 GPs surveyed in April believed the lower HbA_1C targets had improved care compared with 12 per cent who disagreed. About one-third said the change was associated with lower HbA1C levels in their patients, whereas one-third noticed no change and 18 per cent reported an increase.
    Three-quarters of respondents were aware of NICE’s 2009 advice on prescribing newer agents for type 2 diabetes and 57 per cent said they had implemented it, increasing their use of DPP-4 inhibitors by 74 per cent, long-acting insulins by 49 per cent and GLP-1 analogues by 42 per cent.