Opioid usage down - safety up?

On 1 June 2020 changes were made to the listing of many strong painkillers on the PBS schedule.

https://www.nps.org.au/radar/articles/opioids-new-and-amended-pbs-listings

Changes included smaller pack sizes for acute use, increased restrictions for chronic use, and stronger administrative requirements to prescribe long term.

Changes were made in an attempt to reduce the number of patients prescribed more opioids than required for acute pain, and the level of opioids circulating in the community.

We recently reviewed the supply of around 120,000 packs of oxycodone (in various forms) over the last years.

Data shows that:

• Number of packs supplied reduced by 3%
• Number of scripts increased by 4.7%
• Script growth on oxycodone was below the average script growth across all medication types
• Number of oxycodone packs supplied per script dropped by 8%
• Total weight of oxycodone active ingredient supplied reduced by 5%
• Total active ingredient supplied per script reduced by 10%

On the surface this does demonstrate a reduction in the amount of opioid being released into the community, with a reduction in active ingredient dispensed (with a likely reduction in risk of inadvertent exposure).

All patients taking stronger opioids are encouraged to have a supply of naloxone at home for use in case of opioid overdose. Supplies of Nyxoid nasal spray are available from pharmacies free of charge under the federal government's take home naloxone program.

https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/take-home-naloxone-program/about-the-take-home-naloxone-program