Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for the opportunity to speak about the provision by the HSE of a new management device for children with type 1 diabetes. Diabetes places a substantial burden on the individual, on society and on the economy. Much of this burden is attributable to short-term and long-term complications. Almost 190.000 people in Ireland have diabetes. As the prevalence of diabetes increases, diabetes-related complications represent a growing global public health and health service challenge.

In accordance with the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, the HSE has statutory responsibility for decisions on pricing and reimbursement of medical devices in the community drug schemes. In February 2017, an application by the manufacturer was submitted to the primary care reimbursement service of the HSE for the reimbursement of the FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring system. Glucose monitoring allows people to self-manage diabetes by making adjustments to their diet, lifestyle and treatment to reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications. Current glucose monitoring methods include self-monitoring of blood glucose, which involves finger-prick blood glucose monitoring using testing strips and electronic glucose meters, as well as continuous glucose monitoring, which needs to be calibrated with a blood sample.

The FreeStyle Libre flash glucose monitoring system is intended to be used as an alternative to current methods for people who administer multiple daily injections of insulin. This innovative technology allows glucose readings to be taken non-invasively and does not need to be calibrated with a blood sample. The HSE health technology assessment group carried out an appraisal of the evidence submitted with this application. An expert group under the auspices of the health technology assessment group considered the FreeStyle Libre application for addition to the reimbursement list in line with the 2013 Act. The health technology assessment group recommended that reimbursement for the device should be considered subject to certain conditions.

The HSE has accepted its recommendations in principle and will be developing an application suite for hospital clinicians to use when proposing suitable patients for consideration of individual reimbursement support. This will be confined to children and young adults who require multiple daily injections of insulin in the first instance, with a review after 12 months.

The HSE has indicated that it will take some months to build the application suite for reimbursement support. When the application suite is ready and in place, hospitals providing a diabetic clinic service will be able to apply for the device for children and young adults, in line with the recommendation of the health technology assessment group. As patients receive approval on the application suite, pharmacies will be able to see their approval status and will be able to dispense to the patient under their long-term illness scheme eligibility.

We have made huge strides in treating and managing diabetes and I am happy to welcome the HSE’s decision to reimburse FreeStyle Libre, which will be welcome news for young people and their parents.

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