Italy: Nota allows GPs and specialists to prescribe more diabetes treatments 

The Italian Medicines Agency (Agenzia Italiana del Farmaco, AIFA) has announced that General Practitioners (GPs) (and all specialists) will be able to prescribe more medicines to treat diabetes type 2 (and related complications) with the publication of nota (prescribing guideline) 100.

Specifically, all GPs and specialists will henceforth be able to prescribe SGLT2 inhibitors (as monotherapy and in fixed combination with other medicines, but not in combination with GLP-1 agonists or DPP4 inhibitors), GLP-1 agonists (as monotherapy and in fixed combination with other medicines, but not in combination with SGLT2 inhibitors) and DPP4 inhibitors (as monotherapy and in fixed combination with other medicines, but not in combination with SGLT2 inhibitors).

According to AIFA, “this is a much awaited step, required by both patient associations and doctors, which will allow General Practitioners to acquire a primary role in the integrated management of diabetes”.

Sources:

1. www.aifa.gov.it, “AIFA: la Nota 100 amplia la possibilità di prescrizione dei farmaci antidiabetici ai medici di medicina generale e agli specialist”, 26^th January 2022
2. www.quotidianosanita.it, “Diabete di tipo 2. Aifa: “Anche il medico di medicina generale potrà prescivere i farmaci antidiabetici” , 26^th January 2022