Progress toward universal health coverage in Vietnam: Evidence on dispensing trends of diabetes medications from 2015 to 2021

Anh Kim Dang; Binh Ngan Vu; Toi Phung Lam; Thanh Kim Thi Ho; Anh Kieu Thi Nguyen; Huong Thi Le; Abdullah A Mamun; Dung Phung; Phong K Thai

doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111691

Progress toward universal health coverage in Vietnam: Evidence on dispensing trends of diabetes medications from 2015 to 2021

Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2024 May 6:212:111691. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111691. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Anh Kim Dang¹, Binh Ngan Vu², Toi Phung Lam³, Thanh Kim Thi Ho⁴, Anh Kieu Thi Nguyen⁵, Huong Thi Le⁶, Abdullah A Mamun⁷, Dung Phung⁸, Phong K Thai⁹

Affiliations

¹ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba 4102, Brisbane, Australia; Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Viet Nam. Electronic address: dangkimanh@hmu.edu.vn.
² Faculty of Analytical Chemistry and Drug Quality Control, Hanoi University of Pharmacy, 13-15 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, Viet Nam. Electronic address: binhvn@hup.edu.vn.
³ Health Strategy and Policy Institute, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
⁴ Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Viet Nam.
⁵ Faculty of Analytical Chemistry and Drug Quality Control, Hanoi University of Pharmacy, 13-15 Le Thanh Tong, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
⁶ Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Viet Nam.
⁷ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba 4102, Brisbane, Australia; Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, The University of Queensland, Indooroopilly, Queensland 4068, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families Over the Life Course (The Life Course Centre), The University of Queensland, Indooroopilly, Queensland 4068, Australia.
⁸ School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, Queensland 4006, Australia.
⁹ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, Woolloongabba 4102, Brisbane, Australia.

PMID: 38710288
DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2024.111691

Abstract

Aims: This study aims to investigate the trends in treatment coverage through dispensing diabetes medications in Vietnam from 2015 to 2021. The findings will serve to inform health policies to mitigate the health burden of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: We collected information on major antidiabetic medicines from General Department of Vietnam Customs and payments for antidiabetics via the National Health Insurance Program. We applied ordinary least squares models, accounting for economic and health outcome characteristics, to estimate the association between the annual mass of medications and related factors.

Results: Nationally, the total mass/doses of all antidiabetic drugs increased rapidly from 2015 to 2021, based on both databases. Metformin was the most frequently prescribed medicine, with the total mass increasing nearly threefold over the study period. Gliclazide, a Sulfonylureas drug, ranked second. In the multivariate regression analysis, a one-unit increase in adults with diabetes (in 1,000 s) was associated with 0.11 % (95 %CI = 0.0005; 0.0076) and 0.13 % (95%CI = 0.0007; 0.0242) higher mass of Metformin and Glimepiride, respectively.

Conclusion: Our data suggested that policies changes were related to significant increase in antidiabetic medication dispenses in Vietnam. The high treatment coverage indicates impressive progress in achieving universal health coverage in Vietnam, meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Keywords: Metformin; Oral diabetes medications; Sulfonylureas; Vietnam.