5.6 ADHD medicines dispensing, 17 years and under
The Third Australian Atlas of Healthcare Variation investigates healthcare use in four clinical areas, as well as patterns of medicines dispensing over time. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medicines dispensing 17 years and under, is included in Chapter 5, Repeat analyses.
Why explore use of these medicines over time?
Growing concerns about the potential harms to individuals and the community from high and rising use of these medicines demonstrates a clear need to monitor variations in their use across Australia.
The third Atlas findings on antipsychotic medicines and ADHD medicines are of particular importance for better understanding use among key prescribers.
The third Atlas revisits these medicine items and examines use over time (from 2013–14 to 2016–17) with the aims of:
- Monitoring rises and falls in rates nationally
- Monitoring changes in the magnitude of variation across Australia
- Understanding whether more effort is needed to promote safe and appropriate use of these medicines.
Time series graph
This section examines ADHD medicines dispensing in Australia from 2013-14 to 2016-17 for those aged 17 years and under.
Each rectangle in the graph below represents an SA3. SA3s are geographical areas defined by the ABS that provide a standardised regional breakdown of Australia. SA3s generally have populations between 30,000 and 130,000 people.
ADHD medicines dispensing, 17 years and under
Download the data
Download the data sheets for ADHD medicines dispensing, 17 years and under (2013-14 to 2016-17):
About the data
About the data - ADHD medicines dispensing, 17 years and under
Data are sourced from the PBS dataset. This dataset includes all prescriptions dispensed under the PBS or Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, including prescriptions that do not receive an Australian Government subsidy. Note that some dispensed medicines may not be consumed by the patient.
The dataset does not include prescriptions dispensed for patients during their hospitalisation in public hospitals, discharge prescriptions dispensed from public hospitals in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, direct supply of medicines to remote Aboriginal health services, over-the-counter purchase of medicines, doctor’s bag medicines and private prescriptions.
This analysis was not undertaken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status because this information was not available for PBS data at the time of publication.
Changes have been made to the data specification used in the first Atlas to improve the robustness of comparing rates over time. The main change is the addition of sex standardisation, as the data specification for the first Atlas standardised for age only. These changes have resulted in small differences in the rates reported for 2013–14 in the first Atlas and this Atlas. The rates reported in this Atlas should be used to monitor changes over time.
About the Atlas and how to interpret the data visualisations
This document outlines how to interpret the data correctly and explains the limitations of the data prior to using the Atlas:
Data specifictions
ADHD medicines dispensing, 17 years and under
Download the data
Download the data sheets for ADHD medicines dispensing, 17 years and under (2013-14 to 2016-17):
About the data
About the data - ADHD medicines dispensing, 17 years and under
Data are sourced from the PBS dataset. This dataset includes all prescriptions dispensed under the PBS or Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, including prescriptions that do not receive an Australian Government subsidy. Note that some dispensed medicines may not be consumed by the patient.
The dataset does not include prescriptions dispensed for patients during their hospitalisation in public hospitals, discharge prescriptions dispensed from public hospitals in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, direct supply of medicines to remote Aboriginal health services, over-the-counter purchase of medicines, doctor’s bag medicines and private prescriptions.
This analysis was not undertaken by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status because this information was not available for PBS data at the time of publication.
Changes have been made to the data specification used in the first Atlas to improve the robustness of comparing rates over time. The main change is the addition of sex standardisation, as the data specification for the first Atlas standardised for age only. These changes have resulted in small differences in the rates reported for 2013–14 in the first Atlas and this Atlas. The rates reported in this Atlas should be used to monitor changes over time.
About the Atlas and how to interpret the data visualisations
This document outlines how to interpret the data correctly and explains the limitations of the data prior to using the Atlas:
Data specifictions