What are the ten most prescribed drugs on the PBS? And which cost the most?
PBS expenditure dropped by 0.8% in the year to 30 June 2015, a new report reveals.
The annual PBS Expenditures & Prescriptions report shows for the year ending 30 June 2015 PBS expenditure totaled $9,072.1 million, compared with $9,148.5 million for the previous year.
Total PBS prescription volumes increased by 0.8 per cent to a total of 211.4 million, compared to 209.8 million for the previous year.
The three drugs with the highest cost to government were Adalimumab ($313.0 million), Rosuvastatin ($215.9 million) and Fluticasone+Salmeterol ($177.2 million).
The PBS drug most frequently dispensed was Atorvastatin, followed by Rosuvastatin and Esomeprazole.
Top 10 highest volume PBS drugs
1 Atorvastatin 7,745,167 units
2 Rosuvastatin 7,188,406
3 Esomeprazole 7,119,400
4 Paracetamol 6,216,154
5 Pantoprazole 4,372,336
6 Perindopril 3,953,333
7 Metformin 3,585,439
8 Fluticasone + Salmeterol 3,196,183
9 Salbutamol 2,980,176
10 Irbesartan 2,949,040
Top 10 highest cost (to government) PBS Drugs
1 Adalimumab $312,975,495
2 Rosuvastatin $215,922,081
3 Fluticasone + Salmeterol $177,152,532
4 Aflibercept $174,926,122
5 Esomeprazole $174,511,496
6 Etanercept $163,911,143
7 Ranibizumab $157,805,723
8 Insulin Glargine $144,073,270
9 Fingolimod $138,351,319
10 Atorvastatin $123,324,909
To view the full report click here