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ISSUE 5 OCTOBER
Top 10 drugs

Top 10 drugs

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
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 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 10)

Down: enalapril (3 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 4) Out: hydrochlorothiazide with amiloride (10 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 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 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 1), atenolol (10 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 8) In: cephalexin (11 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 9)
Down: amoxycillin (1 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 2), cefaclor (9 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 10) Out: enalapril (8 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 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 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 7) In: atorvastatin (unlisted /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 4), sertraline (12 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 8)
Down: enalapril (4 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 6), amlodipine (6 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 10), salbutamol (8 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 9) Out: famotidine (9 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 27), captopril (7 /attachments/3511dc656c4a015be14aa2774cfa53e10c5fcebb/store/f480b2e68d0929acd148bc0defe6525936f3deae614e837b92f00f674454/image.gif 13)