Top 10 drugs

(Aust Prescr 1999;22:119)

(Aust Prescr 1999;22:119)

Table 1

Top 10 drugs by defined daily dose/thousand population/day* - 1998

Drug
PBS/RPBS
Guild survey
Total community use
1. salbutamol
22.476
6.531
29.007
2. frusemide
20.322
2.235
22.557
3. simvastatin
21.878
0.102
21.980
4. enalapril
18.727
0.304
19.031
5. ranitidine
16.798
0.102
16.900
6. ipratropium bromide
15.464
0.044
15.508
7. amlodipine
13.858
0.052
13.910
8. budesonide
13.513
0.048
13.561
9. felodipine
10.909
1.003
11.912
10. thyroxine
7.106
4.560
11.666

Changes from 1997 data:
Up: simvastatin (4 3) In: thyroxine (11 10)
Down: enalapril (3 4) Out: hydrochlorothiazide with amiloride (10 13)

* This table includes subsidised (PBS/RPBS) and non-subsidised use (information from Pharmacy Guild survey). The defined daily dose/
thousand population/day is a more useful measure of drug utilisation than prescription counts. It shows how many people, in every
thousand Australians, are taking the standard dose of a drug every day. (See `Monitoring drug use in Australia' Aust Prescr 1993;16:27-9).

Table 2

Top 10 drugs by prescription counts - 1998
Drug
PBS/RPBS
Guild survey
Total community use
1. paracetamol
4,605,770
123,790
4,729,560
2. amoxycillin
2,293,347
2,301,012
4,594,359
3. salbutamol
3,576,443
931,007
4,507,450
4. simvastatin
4,202,292
18,707
4,220,999
5. codeine 30 mg with paracetamol
2,956,740
1,203,794
4,160,534
6. ranitidine
3,717,456
32,696
3,750,152
7. temazepam
2,700,379
700,452
3,400,831
8. atenolol
2,214,368
926,696
3,141,064
9. cephalexin
1,584,048
1,360,722
2,944,770
10. cefaclor
1,448,469
1,421,303
2,869,772

Changes from 1997 data:
Up: paracetamol (2 1), atenolol (10 8) In: cephalexin (11 9)
Down: amoxycillin (1 2), cefaclor (9 10) Out: enalapril (8 11)

Table 3

Top 10 drugs by cost to government - 1998
Drug
PBS/RPBS
DDD/1000/day
PBS/RPBS
scripts
Cost to government ($A)
1. simvastatin
21.878
4,202,292
191,658,016
2. omeprazole
9.812
1,922,958
177,733,031
3. ranitidine
16.798
3,717,456
73,010,778
4. atorvastatin
10.932
1,330,458
70,486,945
5. ipratropium bromide
15.464
1,328,532
66,221,073
6. enalapril
18.727
2,597,256
59,467,163
7. pravastatin
4.568
1,001,430
47,710,161
8. sertraline
9.080
1,455,271
45,174,008
9. salbutamol
22.476
3,576,443
44,760,378
10. amlodipine
13.858
2,194,584
43,766,359

Changes from 1997 data:
Up: pravastatin (10 7) In: atorvastatin (unlisted 4), sertraline (12 8)
Down: enalapril (4 6), amlodipine (6 10), salbutamol (8 9) Out: famotidine (9 27), captopril (7 13)