Australian Prescriber - Top 10 drugs



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Top 10 drugs

(Aust Prescr 2001;24:136)

These tables show the top 10 subsidised drugs in 2000-01. The tables do not include private prescriptions.

Table 1
Top 10 drugs by defined daily dose/thousand population/day*

Table 2
Top 10 drugs by prescription counts

Drug

PBS/RPBS †

1. atorvastatin
2. simvastatin
3. celecoxib
4. salbutamol
5. frusemide
6. ranitidine hydrochloride
7. ipratropium bromide
8. omeprazole
9. amlodipine besylate
10. irbesartan

52.814
38.596
34.527
26.452
23.797
19.891
18.479
18.229
17.992
17.366

Drug

PBS/RPBS †

1. simvastatin
2. paracetamol
3. atorvastatin
4. celecoxib
5. ranitidine hydrochloride
6. salbutamol
7. codeine with paracetamol
8. temazepam
9. omeprazole
10. atenolol

4,785,785
4,752,399
4,745,607
3,850,569
3,790,947
3,588,326
3,015,979
2,837,752
2,761,884
2,646,123

* The defined daily dose (DDD)/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.

Table 3
Top 10 drugs by cost to government

Drug

PBS/RPBS † DDD/1000/day

PBS/RPBS scripts

Cost to government ($A)

1. simvastatin
2. atorvastatin
3. celecoxib
4. omeprazole
5. olanzapine
6. pravastatin
7. sertraline
8. ranitidine hydrochloride
9. insulin (human)
10. bupropion

38.596
52.814
34.527
18.229
2.557
10.202
16.989
19.891
11.426
3.005

4,785,785
4,745,607
3,850,569
2,761,884
507,167
1,473,711
2,256,615
3,790,947
421,974
297,662

284,848,016
279,681,834
210,259,889
198,064,392
112,921,245
87,904,278
87,259,122
85,803,001
78,922,474
74,852,706

† PBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
RPBS Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme