Despite insulin being a lifesaving medication, insulin distress, insulin hesitancy, and insulin inertia remain oft-repeated themes in diabetes discourse. The current model lists three issues: temperament, troublesomeness, and technicality, which contribute to insulin perceptions. Therapeutic patienteducation (TPE), value-added therapy (VAT), and medication counseling are concepts that assist in optimizing insulin perceptions. Insulin icodec is a basal insulin with a half-life of 196 h and a once-weekly or circaseptan frequency of administration. Insulin icodec reduces the frequency of basal insulin administration to one-seventh, which along with the lower requirement of glucose monitoring, reduces the burden of plastic and ancillary supply disposal. Because of its unique frequency of injection, insulin icodec usage requires appropriate counseling and education. This reader-friendly counseling guide helps practitioners offer VAT, as well as TPE while prescribing icodec and other insulins.
Keywords: Basal insulin; Diabetes; Insulin icodec; Medication counseling; Person-centered care; Person-friendly insulin.
Insulin icodec is a newly developed basal insulin that is injected once a week. Specific counseling is required in order to optimize the use of this insulin. We share a 3T model—temperament [of the person], troublesomeness [of the insulin], and technicality [of injection], that influence insulin perceptions. We then use this model to highlight the information that must accompany an insulin icodec prescription, like “value-added therapy”. We suggest that as it suits a wide variety of persons living with diabetes, and as its use requires minimal troubleshooting and technical know-how, icodec can be termed a person-friendly insulin. Icodec also reduces the burden of plastic generation and disposal.
© 2024. The Author(s).