Table 2 Number of dispensings and extrapolated direct medicine costs of three low-value prescribing practices in 2016
Low-value prescribing practice | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Benzodiazepines in elderly | Antipsychotics in dementia | Antipsychotic polypharmacy | ||
Number of dispensings (in PBS 10% sample) | 240,460 | 11,777 | 51,310 | |
Extrapolated direct medicine costs (/$ million) | Patients | 13.8 | 0.7 | 0.5 |
Government | 12.2 | 2.1 | 5.3 | |
Total | 26 | 2.8 | 5.8 | |