Financial Impact of Diabetes Mellitus Treatment on Indian Patients

A BSTRACT Introduction: The cost of diabetes medications is significantly high and incurs a substantial economic burden on the patients. The study aimed to determine the financial impact of diabetes treatment on the individuals visiting the hospital’s outpatient department. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. This sub-study was part of a diabetes registry, for which data was collected for type 1 and type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) patients at seven sites pan India across approved by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC). The government and private sectors were involved. The data on demographics and the financial impact of diabetes treatment were collected and analyzed uniformity by using a standardized data entry form. Results: A Total of 15,158 patients were enrolled 51.4% were males, and 48.6% were females. Also, 1.1% had Type 1 DM, whereas 98.9% had Type 2 DM. The males and the urban population were spending more on diabetes care. It was observed that 16.2% were getting a free supply of medicines, 43.2% were spending less than one thousand rupees, 36.2% were spending up to five thousand rupees, 1.8% were spending up to ten thousand rupees, 0.3% were spending more than or equal to ten thousand Indian infront of rupees, and 2.3% were not willing to share per month cost incurred on diabetes treatment ( P < 0.001). Conclusion: Most patients paid out of pocket for diabetes treatment. Approximately half of patients spent nearly one-fifth of their income on diabetes treatment in India, causing a considerable cost for outpatient treatment.