Vitamin D testing in Spain increased 3X in 2 years (considering 28,000,000 people) – Oct 2017

Temporal and regional variability in the request of vitamin D from general practitioners in Spain.

Clin Chem Lab Med. 2017 Oct 26;55(11):1754-1760. doi: 10.1515/cclm-2016-1040.
Salinas M1, López-Garrigós M1, Flores E1, Leiva-Salinas C1; Pilot Group of the Appropriate Utilization of Laboratory Tests (REDCONLAB) working group.

VitaminDWiki

Some countries restrict Vitamin D testing so as to achieve a short-term reduction in medical costs

10 Most-visited pages in Tests for Vitamin D category

Id Page Hits Last modification Creator Categories
2095 Quick, free, self test of vitamin D deficiency 161240
29 Nov, 2023 19:16
admin Deficiency of Vitamin D
Tests for Vitamin D
Osteoporosis
Predict Vitamin D
266 Low cost vitamin D Blood Tests 125243
25 Aug, 2023 21:02
admin Tests for Vitamin D
5136 Warning – Medicare will pay for just 1 vitamin D test PER LIFETIME (if not related to a few diseases) 40554
19 Mar, 2021 21:49
admin Tests for Vitamin D
Top news
3814 Tests for Vitamin D 25787
10 Sep, 2022 19:13
admin Tests for Vitamin D
Category
6554 Active Vitamin D (Calcitriol) reference ranges, why too high is a problem– April 2015 21967
16 Dec, 2022 21:13
admin Tests for Vitamin D
Inflammation
Calcitriol
2694 VA showed increased vitamin D associated with lower health costs - Lancet May 2012 19595
02 Oct, 2023 03:21
admin Tests for Vitamin D
Cost savings with Vitamin D
Top news
4185 80 X increase in Vitamin D testing in Australia in a decade - June 2013 15173
07 Dec, 2019 02:26
admin Tests for Vitamin D
2022 Consultation to medical professionals on Vitamin D Testing - Sept 2011 14948
24 Mar, 2012 13:43
admin Tests for Vitamin D
Overview for doctors
3859 Instant vitamin D Yes-No test now available 14817
18 Jul, 2022 20:47
admin Tests for Vitamin D
Top news
1686 Hypothesis – Optimize vitamin D at home by measuring excess Calcium in urine 14090
15 Aug, 2020 22:08
admin How much Vitamin D
Tests for Vitamin D
Vitamin D and Calcium

 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki

Low Vitamin D levels in Spain

Image
BACKGROUND:
Our main goal is to study the inter-practice regional variability and the temporal evolution in the request of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) by general practitioners (GPs) in Spain.

METHODS:
Clinical laboratories in different autonomic communities (AACCs) were invited to report the number of 25(OH)D test requested by GPs during 2012 and 2014. The number of 25(OH)D requested per 1000 inhabitants and the index of variability were calculated, and compared between regions and time periods. We calculated the number of tests that could have been potentially saved in regions where 25(OH)D could be requested from primary care without restrictions taking into account the request in those where it is restricted, and the potential economical savings.

RESULTS:
Seventy-six laboratories participated in the 2012 edition, and 110 in 2014, corresponding to 17,679,195 and 27,798,262 inhabitants (59.8% Spanish population). The number of 25(OH)D requested per 1000 inhabitants increased from

  • 1.1 in 2012 to
  • 3.4 in 2014 (p<0.001).

The variability index also increased from 51.7 to 68. There was a significantly variability among the different AACCs, ranging from 0.94 to 21.24 (p=0.002). 173,885 tests could have been not measured from primary care in regions without ordering restrictions, resulting in potential 886,813.5€ savings.

CONCLUSIONS:
There was a high variability in the request of 25(OH)D by GPs in Spain, which significantly increased in a 2 year period. The demand was higher in areas where the request of 25(OH)D was not restricted in primary care, with potential savings if the request would approach to regions with ordering restrictions.

PMID: 28231056 DOI: 10.1515/cclm-2016-1040,

4160 visitors, last modified 31 Oct, 2017,
Printer Friendly Follow this page for updates