Analysis of impact of regulatory reforms on utilisation of opioids, June 2023
Page last updated: 14 November 2023
Drug utilisation sub-committee (DUSC)
June 2023
Abstract
Purpose
DUSC requested a review of the utilisation of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)-listed opioid analgesics to examine the impact of the 1 June 2020 regulatory reforms and associated PBS listing changes for opioid analgesics.
Data Source / methodology
Data were extracted from the Services Australia Supplied Prescriptions database based on Anatomic Therapeutic Classification codes for dates of supply from 1 January 2016 to 30 September 2022.
Key Findings
- The number of supplied prescriptions, defined daily doses (DDDs) and treated patients had decreased since 2018. In 2021 there was:
- a 4.2% decrease of the number of supplied prescriptions,
- a 10.8% decrease in the number of supplied DDDs, and
- a 0.3% decrease of the number of treated patients.
- Tapentadol was the only drug in the opioids market with increased utilisation.
- The percentage of original prescriptions with prescribed repeats decreased from 13% in 2019 to 8% in 2021.
- Of the 14.5 million original prescriptions written in 2021, approximately 4% were written for listings of reduced pack sizes.
- For PBS listings that had the pack size reduced from 1 June 2020, only a very small proportion of these new listings were prescribed with repeats.
- After the introduction of new and amended listings to the Palliative Care Schedule from
- 1 June 2021, the supply of opioids from Palliative Care Schedule has increased from Q2 2021.
Full Report
