[Skip to Content]

Claim CME

Diabetes and Endocrinology

Trends in Insulin Prescribing for Patients With Diabetes During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the US

Educational Objective
To identify the key insights or developments described in this article

1 Credit CME

JAMA Network Open

Published Online: November 3, 2021

Research Letter

Article Information and Disclosures

Ismaeel Yunusa, PharmD, PhD^1,2;

Bryan L. Love, PharmD, MPH^1,2;

Chao Cai, PhD^1,2;

Tessa Hastings, PhD^1,2;

Claiborne E. Reeder, PhD^1,2,3;

Elizabeth W. Blake, PharmD²;

Cynthia Phillips, PharmD²

Author Affiliations

¹Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Columbia
²Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences, University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Columbia
³Kennedy Pharmacy Innovation Center, University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, Columbia

Read article on JAMA Network

Read Article Claim CME

For the approximately 7 million US individuals with diabetes who rely on insulin,¹ the number of insulin prescriptions rose steadily in the decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.² Reduced access to medical care and disruptions in supply related to the pandemic may have decreased access to insulin,³ with possible adverse consequences for diabetes control.⁴ Conversely, emergency Medicaid expansions that increased capacity for telemedicine services during the pandemic may have been associated with improved access to treatment.⁵ Therefore, this study aimed to assess whether changes to insulin prescription claims occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Claim CME

Sign in to take quiz and track your certificates

Buy This Activity

Article Information

Accepted for Publication: September 1, 2021.

Published: November 3, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.32607

Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2021 Yunusa I et al. JAMA Network Open.

Corresponding Author: Ismaeel Yunusa, PharmD, PhD, Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences, University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, 715 Sumter St, Columbia, SC 29208 (iyunusa@mailbox.sc.edu).

Author Contributions: Drs Love and Yunusa had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Yunusa, Love, Cai, Hastings, Reeder, Phillips.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Yunusa, Love, Cai, Blake, Phillips.

Drafting of the manuscript: Yunusa, Phillips.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Yunusa, Love, Reeder.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Yunusa, Cai, Hastings, Reeder, Blake, Phillips.

Supervision: Love.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Drs Love, Blake, and Phillips reported receiving nonfinancial support from IQVIA during the conduct of the study. Dr Phillips reported receiving salary reimbursement and grants through the University of South Carolina from Prisma Health (where she practices and consults) and serving as a volunteer cochair for the Endocrine and Metabolism Practice Research Network of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. No other disclosures were reported.

Disclaimer: The statements, findings, conclusions, views, and opinions contained and expressed in this article are based in part on data obtained under license from the IQVIA Institute, Source: US Prescription Claims, January 2018–October 2020, IQVIA Inc. All Rights Reserved. The statements, findings, conclusions, views, and opinions contained and expressed herein are not necessarily those of IQVIA Inc or any of its affiliated or subsidiary entities.

Additional Contributions: We thank Allen Campbell, BS, from IQVIA customer support for facilitating access to these data. Mr Campbell did not receive any payment from the authors for his contribution.

Additional Information: Data were provided by IQVIA Inc as part of an IQVIA Human Data Science Research Collaborative agreement.

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
1.00 credit toward the CME [and Self-Assessment requirements] of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.