People with diabetes regularly receiving empagliflozin

Official name

Other names

Indicator #4

Description

This indicator shows the number and percent of people with diabetes receiving empagliflozin regularly. Regular use was defined as empagliflozin dispensed in three or more quarters in a year.

Rationale

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors such as empagliflozin are available since February 2021 and fully funded for the treatment of people with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes despite treatment who are at high risk of cardiovascular disease or have renal complications.

Understanding variation in dispensing these newer medicines is important for optimising diabetes care and ensuring that patients receive the most appropriate treatments.

Measure set

Diabetes domain

Health areas and conditions

Notes about this measure set

Data is not presented where the number of people in the numerator was less than 10. This is to preserve confidentiality.
People were assigned to their Health New Zealand ‒ Te Whatu Ora (Health New Zealand) district of domicile; where more than one domicile was recorded, the most recent value was selected.
Ethnicity data presented is prioritised ethnic group (Māori, Pacific peoples, Indian and European/other). Prioritised ethnic groups involve each participant being assigned to a single ethnic group, based on the ethnicities they have identified with, in the prioritised order of Māori, Pacific peoples, Indian and European/other. The European/other ethnic group includes persons of the following ethnicities: European (including New Zealand European), MELAA (Middle Eastern, Latin American and African), other Asian and Other. Where people report different ethnic groups at different timepoints, the most recent value is selected.
Rates are not age standardised; this means our prevalence rates are different to those on the Health New Zealand diabetes dashboard (https://tewhatuora.shinyapps.io/virtual-diabetes-register-web-tool/).
For all indicators, individuals with missing values for any of the variables of interest (age, gender, ethnicity and district) are excluded completely. For instance, if there are any missing values for age, they are excluded from all analyses. This approach ensures a consistent denominator throughout the analyses.
Since we aggregate data for the numerator and denominator separately for Indicator #1, we use demographic information from the Virtual Diabetes Register (VDR) for the numerator and from the Primary Health Organisation (PHO) Enrolment Collection for the denominator. For Indicators #2‒12, demographic information is taken from the VDR. For Indicator #13, demographic information is from the National Minimum Dataset (NMDS).
For PHO analyses, we analysed Indicator #1 to determine the size of diabetic population each PHO serves. Then we categorised them into small (< 3,000), medium (3,000‒5,000), medium‒large (5,000‒10,000) and large (> 10,000).

Measure type

Count

Percent

Numerator

People with diabetes dispensed empagliflozin in three or four quarters in the relevant year.

Numerator detail

413725 & 413726 empagliflozin

413825, 413826, 413827 & 413828 empagliflozin with metformin hydrochloride

Denominator

Count of distinct master NHIs identified as having diabetes as per the VDR.

Responsible organisation(s)

Health Quality & Safety Commission | Te Tāhū Hauora

Data sources

Pharmaceutical Collection (PHARMS)

Virtual Diabetes Register

Disaggregation

For single map analysis: By year (2018‒22), age group (0‒14 years, 15‒24 years, 25‒44 years, 45‒64 years, 65‒74 years and 75+ years), gender (female and male), ethnic group (Māori, Pacific peoples, Indian and European/other) and Health New Zealand district of domicile.

For PHO analysis: By year (2022), age group (0‒14 years, 15‒24 years, 25‒44 years, 45‒64 years, 65‒74 years and 75+ years), gender (female and male), ethnic group (Māori, Pacific peoples, Indian and European/other), PHO most recently enrolled with (for the relevant year), PHO group (small, medium, medium‒large and large).

Contact email

Measures.Library@hqsc.govt.nz

Measure methodology last updated

June 2024

Measure sets

Health areas

People with diabetes regularly receiving empagliflozin