Why did health officials restrict GLP-1 RA prescribing? Here’s the PBAC review behind the decision
Dr Gary Deed says that striking the right balance between clinical considerations and cost-effectiveness will always be a challenge.
What sparked the Department of Health and Aged Care decision to change prescribing rules for type 2 diabetes medications on the PBS?
The 1 June announcement, which was long foreshadowed yet still came as a surprise, means doctors now require telephone or electronic authority when initiating GLP-1 receptor agonists (RAs) for any PBS indication.
Streamlined authority will remain for patients continuing treatment with the drug class.
But PBS access to GLP-1 RAs is restricted to those who are contraindicated, intolerant or do not have a “clinically meaningful glycaemic response” to SGLT-2 inhibitors — and only in combination with metformin, insulin or a sulfonylurea.
