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Abstract
With the increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and the economic burden of increased costs of newer medications, an important question is whether the cost of these new medications can be justified not just based on improved patient outcomes, but also economic analyses. A recent study documented a reduction in hospitalizations and a consequent significant overall annual cost savings of $2,400 per patient per year in patients treated with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) + basal insulin as compared to bolus + basal insulin therapy. The driver in the GLP-1-treated group seemed to be more visits to an endocrinologist. The conclusions from this study are that endocrinologists who manage T2D save the health care system money by prescribing more GLP-1 RA therapy than bolus insulin when adding on to basal insulin.