Pharmacy Daily | Over 100 million under co-pay scripts

THERE were almost 101 million Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions dispensed to patients at prices lower than the co-payment over the last 12 months, according to new data released by the Federal Department of Health.

Between 01 Jul 2021 and 30 Jun 2022 "approximately 100.8 million under co-payment prescriptions were supplied under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS)," the Department noted in an update yesterday.

"The data continues to be successfully collected from both community pharmacies and public and private hospitals," the update noted, adding that the data is of a high quality and is now being made available on the Department's website, as well as in regular PBS publications and reports.

The figures for the last 12 months also confirmed that patient contributions amounted to just over $1.5 billion in total, with the most commonly dispensed under co-payment medication being rosuvastatin tablet 10mg with 2,475,825 prescriptions.

Others in the top 10 last year included esomeprazol 20mg (2,075,098 scripts), pantoprazole tablet 40mg (1,963,236), cefalexin 500mg capsules (1,869,838), escitalopram 10mg (1,799,259), escitalopram 20mg (1,637,524), amoxicillin 500mg caosules (1,595,033), sertraline 50mg tablets (1,558,540), rosuvastatin 5mg tablets (1,504,835) and sertraline tablet 100mg (1,461,770).

This year's numbers continue an ongoing increase in the number of under co-payment prescriptions issued on the PBS/RPBS, with the figure for 2020/21 amounting to just under 94 million scripts and a total patient contribution of $1.42 billion for the 12-month period.

In 2019/20 the number was slightly higher at 96.3 million and a $1.47 billion patient contribution, while the pre-COVID year of 2018/19 saw 93.9 million under co-payment scripts dispensed with patients paying $1.43 billion.

This year's top 10 under co-payment prescriptions were largely unchanged from 2020/21, apart from paracetamol codeine tablets which were in ninth position last year with 1.33 million scripts, but this year dropped back to 12th position with 1.29 million scripts.

The Health Department said the availability of the data is providing researchers with "enhanced coverage of medicines that are approved and dispensed under the PBS/RPBS".

"It is improving the accuracy of information available to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and others to support evidence-based decision making and policy formulation," the Department added.

Over the period covered by the data the general co-payment was $41.30 for 01 Jul-31 Dec 2021, rising to $42.50 for 01 Jan-30 Jun 2022, while the 2021 concessional co-payment was $6.60, increasing to $6.80 last year.

The full list of under co-payment prescription data for past years is available online at pbs.gov.au.

The recent reduction in the general co-payment to $30 (PD 27 Oct), which comes into effect from 01 Jan 2023, means next year's under co-payment prescription figures are expected to be markedly different.