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ISSUE 2 APRIL
Top 10 drugs

Top 10 Drugs

These tables show the top 10 subsidised drugs in 2003-04. The tables do not include private prescriptions.

 

Table 1 - Top 10 drugs supplied by DDD/1000 pop/day* 

 

Drug

PBS/RPBS†

1.

atorvastatin

80.697

2.

simvastatin

51.468

3.

diltiazem hydrochloride

35.470

4.

ramipril

31.725

5.

omeprazole

21.631

6.

 irbesartan with hydrochlorothiazide

20.889

7.

irbesartan

19.931

8.

salbutamol

19.919

9.

frusemide

19.403

10.

 sertraline

17.108
 

Table 2 - Top 10 drugs by prescription counts

 

Drug

PBS/RPBS†

1.

atorvastatin

7,097,744

2.

simvastatin

6,008,468

3.

paracetamol

4,714,533

4.

omeprazole

4,537,098

5.

 irbesartan

3,371,882

6.

celecoxib

3,240,047

7.

salbutamol

3,220,045

8.

atenolol

3,136,071

9.

rofecoxib

3,028,529

10.

ramipril

2,871,065
 

Table 3 - Top 10 drugs by cost to Government

 

Drug

Cost to Government
($A)  

DDD/1000/day
PBS/RPBS†  

Prescriptions PBS/RPBS†

1.

atorvastatin

397,430,210

80.697

7,097,744

2.

simvastatin

363,667,949

51.468

6,008,468

3.

omeprazole

197,471,882

21.631

4,537,098

4.

salmeterol and fluticasone

163,196,875‡

2,666,465

 

5.

 olanzapine

150,962,947

2.941

717,460

6.

clopidogrel

128,213,796

6.446

1,617,367

7.

pravastatin

125,298,133

14.150

2,131,080

8.

esomeprazole

111,540,717

9.694

2,265,197

9.

alendronic acid

99,266,727

7.942

1,921,121

10.

rofecoxib

95,196,777

10.912

3,028,529

* 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.

† PBS Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, RPBS Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme

‡ Combination drugs do not have a DDD allocated

Source: Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee (DUSC): Drug Utilisation Database © Commonwealth of Australia