The case in summary Hans Einar Johannessen has diabetes and has lost 60 kilograms with the help of the diabetes medicine Ozempic, but the medicine is often in short supply. Ozempic has previously been prescribed as a slimming medicine, but the authorities have recently recommended that it should only be prescribed to patients with diabetes. The Diabetes Association is satisfied with the authorities’ recommendation and believes that the shortage situation is a burden for people with diabetes type 2. The National Association for the Overweight believes that everyone should have access to good and effective treatment, and that it is difficult to get good enough treatment for obesity in Norway. The Ministry of Health and Care has given the Directorate for Medical Products the task of looking into the widespread use of Ozempic, and is considering further measures. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I have often had to drive around the whole city to find a pharmacy that has the medicine, says Hans Einar Johannessen. The medicine has long been in short supply. But recently there was a recommendation from the authorities that it should only be prescribed to patients with diabetes. You can read more about that here. – I hope it means that I get my medicine when I need it, says Johannessen. He says that three years ago he could barely walk due to being overweight and in pain. He was diagnosed with diabetes at the GP. The doctor prescribed the diabetes medication Ozempic for Johannessen. Diabetic Hans Einar Johannessen has lost 60 kilos. Photo: Rosa Irén Villalobos / news – It saved my life. I have lost 60 kilos and have got my life back, he says. Ozempic is a medicine that comes in injection form. It should regulate blood sugar in patients with diabetes. But it has also been prescribed for patients who struggle with obesity. They get the medicine on a so-called white prescription. So they have to pay up to NOK 36,000 a year for it. – Do not take our medicine The Diabetes Association is satisfied with the authorities’ recommendation. The association has reacted to the fact that overweight people without diabetes can get Ozempic on white prescription. Recently, the association wrote a column on news Ytring where they ask that obese people do not take their medicine. You can read it here. – The shortage situation is a burden for people with type 2 diabetes who have to spend time and effort looking for Ozempic in pharmacies, and in the worst case scenario cannot get hold of the treatment they should have. This is what Britt Inger Skaanes, secretary general of the Diabetes Association, says to news. Secretary General of the Diabetes Association, Britt Inger Skaanes. Photo: Terje Rakke She says people who are overweight can now take other medicines. – People who have a medical need to lose weight should be prescribed other drugs for weight loss on white prescription. – Difficult to get treatment The National Association for the Obese agrees that people with diabetes must be prioritized. – But people with diabetes also often have problems with obesity, says manager Mari-Mette Graff. Mari-Mette Graff, National Association for the Obese. Photo: UNN (Universitetssykehuset Nord-Norge) She believes it is difficult to get good enough treatment for obesity in Norway. – What we believe is that everyone should have access to good and effective treatment. Not everyone has benefited from Ozempic. But I think it should be a matter of course in Norway to have access to treatment that does not discriminate on the basis of finances, regardless of condition, says Graff. She adds that obesity is a morbid condition. – It is not a moral condition. The doctors pressed The Medical Association supports the recommendations from the authorities. – Ozempic is a diabetes medication, says head of the Norwegian Association for General Medicine, Marte Kvittum Tangen. Head of the Norwegian Association for General Medicine, Marte Kvittum Tangen. Photo: Thomas Eckhoff / The Norwegian Medical Association She adds that doctors have often felt pressured by obese patients to prescribe the medicine on a white prescription. – They have experienced that the patient almost comes with an order for Ozempic, says Kvittum Tangen. She clarifies that there should also be a lifestyle change to lose weight. – The best thing is if you can achieve these changes without the use of drugs, says Kvittum Tangen. The diabetes medicine Ozempic is a popular medicine among the obese. Photo: Privat The government has plans The Ministry of Health and Care has given the Directorate for Medical Products (Dmp) the task of looking into the widespread use of Ozempic. They are also the ones who have come up with the new recommendation for Norwegian doctors. The ministry states that the health authorities are also considering additional measures. – The challenges associated with obesity must be met holistically, and with a focus on the underlying causes. The government is working through several measures, including in the areas of diet, physical activity, mental health and quality of life, says State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng to news. State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng in the Ministry of Health and Care. Photo: Esten Borgos / Borgos Foto AS He believes that the health and care services have an important role in the prevention and treatment of obesity. Bekeng also believes that some may need drug treatment when other measures have been tried. – The specialist healthcare service can often, to a greater extent than the primary healthcare service, offer an interdisciplinary approach with, among other things, a nutritionist, physiotherapist and psychologist, he says. For Hans Einar Johannessen, it is not only the medicines that have helped. – I have changed my lifestyle and train every day, he says. Hi! Do you have input on this matter or tips for other matters? Feel free to send me an email!
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Lack of the diabetes medicine Ozempic forces patients to search the city – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
