The Municipal Health Department of Macaé has begun offering insulin glargine to specific age groups of people with diabetes. The measure covers children and adolescents aged 2 to 17 with type 1 diabetes, as well as people over 70 diagnosed with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. According to the department, the initiative aims to broaden access to appropriate pharmaceutical care, simplify patients' daily routines and ensure better control of glucose levels.
The department says the offer of the medicine represents a significant advance in continuous support for patients, especially because of the ease of handling the applicator pen and the roughly 24-hour coverage provided by the drug. It also says the priority groups were defined strictly according to Ministry of Health criteria.
According to the department, the long action of insulin glargine provides more homogeneous and stable glycemic coverage throughout the day. It significantly reduces the risk of hypoglycemia episodes, especially at night, compared with NPH insulin. That added safety gives patients and their families greater peace of mind and helps avoid clinical decompensation, emergency department visits and preventable hospital admissions.
Application is usually given once a day, simplifying the routine for caregivers and families, especially in the case of children and older adults. The department notes that regimens with other insulins, such as rapid-acting insulin applied after meals, may still be necessary depending on each case and strict medical prescription.
Municipal teams follow up with and advise beneficiaries on prescribed times and doses, injection techniques, blood glucose monitoring and correct storage of the product. Because the applicator pen is reusable, the patient should not discard it when the load ends and should go to a municipal unit to receive technical instructions and replace the refill.
Insulin glargine can be collected Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with tickets issued continuously throughout the period, at the following municipal units: Central Municipal Pharmacy, Barra Municipal Pharmacy, Trapiche Municipal Pharmacy, Sana Municipal Pharmacy, Older Adult Municipal Pharmacy, PSA Municipal Pharmacy, Bosque Azul Municipal Pharmacy, Barra Mares Municipal Pharmacy, Women's Municipal Pharmacy, Oncology Municipal Pharmacy and the Lagomar UBS pharmacy.
To access the medicine, residents must go to one of the units with a valid medical prescription, a Citizen Card or official photo identification document and a CPF.
Sources: G1.