Preventer medicine adherence 2021-2022 (AIHW)

Analysis of PBS data indicates that:

• 33% of people 50 and under being dispensed a preventer were dispensed at least 3 preventers within 12 months (overuse) in 2021-2022, compared to 36% in 2020-2021, 35% in 2019-2020, 34% in 2018-2019 and 34% in 2017-2018, and has therefore remained quite stable since 2017-2018 despite a spike in 2020-2021 that may be related to COVID-19 panic buying and bushfires in 2019-2020.
• by age groups, the proportion of reliever overuse (3 or more reliever dispensed within a year) in 2021-2022 was: 29.3% in 0-14 yo; 25.3% in 15-24 yo; 30.5% in 25-34 yo, 35.4% in 35-44 yo and 41.0% in 45-50 yo

This indicates that in 2021-2022, at least 2 in 3 people 50 and under using a preventer did not use it regularly.

Fig.12 Proportion of people aged 50 and under dispensed at least one preventer medicine, who were dispensed preventer medicines 3 or more times within 12 months, by age and sex, 2017–2018 to 2021–2022