Pharmaceuticals: client demographics and treatment

On this page:

In 2022–23, pharmaceuticals were reported as a drug of concern (either principal or additional) in 10.0% of all treatment episodes (22,602 episodes) (Table Drg.87).

  • Pharmaceuticals were the principal drug of concern in 5.6% of treatment episodes (12,062 episodes) (Table Drg.87). 
  • As a proportion, relative to all drugs of concern, pharmaceuticals declined from a peak of 6.8% in 2013–14 (11,756 episodes) before steadily increasing from 2019–20.
  • In the 10 years to 2022–23, pharmaceuticals were generally more likely to be reported as an additional rather than principal drug of concern. However, in 2022–23 the proportion of episodes with pharmaceuticals as an additional drug of concern has declined to 4.8% while those with pharmaceuticals as a principal drug of concern have increased to 5.6% (Table Drg.87). 

The most common additional drugs of concern reported with pharmaceuticals were amphetamines (26% or 1,704 episodes), cannabis (20% or 1,303 episodes) and alcohol (13% or 887 episodes) (Table Drg.88). Clients can nominate up to 5 additional drugs of concern: these drugs are not necessarily the subject of any treatment within the episode.

Classification of pharmaceutical drugs in the AODTS NMDS

Pharmaceuticals are drugs that are available from a pharmacy – over the counter or by prescription – including opioids (such as codeine and oxycodone) and benzodiazepines (such as diazepam). Some pharmaceutical drug use is for non-medical purposes (Department of Health 2017). 

Pharmaceuticals are not listed as a broad drug group in the Australian Standard Classification of Drugs of Concern (ASCDC) classification. In the AODTS NMDS report, the ‘pharmaceuticals’ drug classification includes the following 10 drug types: codeine, morphine, buprenorphine, oxycodone, methadone, benzodiazepines, steroids, other opioids, other analgesics, and other sedatives and hypnotics. Refer to the Technical notes and Key terminology and glossary for more information.

For information on pharmaceutical drug use and harms, please see:

Pharmaceuticals by drug type

In 2022–23, opioids and benzodiazepines accounted for nearly 3 in 4 episodes provided for a pharmaceutical drug as the principal drug of concern (PDOC) (72% or 8,643 episodes) (Table Drg.87). ‘Opioids’ includes codeine, morphine, buprenorphine, oxycodone, methadone, and other opioids.

  • Opioids as a group were a principal drug of concern in 2.4% of all treatment episodes and an additional drug of concern in 1.1% (5,289 and 2,500 episodes, respectively). 
    • Buprenorphine (1,855 episodes), methadone (890) and oxycodone (812) were the most common principal drug types recorded in opioid-related treatment episodes. 
  • Benzodiazepine was a principal drug of concern in 1.5% of treatment episodes and listed as an additional drug of concern in 2.1% episodes (3,354 and 4,498 episodes, respectively).

Over the 10 years to 2022–23:

  • The number of treatment episodes for benzodiazepines while initially decreasing from 2,650 episodes in 2012–13 to 1,727 episodes in 2015–16, has steadily increased reaching its highest level in 2022–23, 3,354 episodes.
  • The number of episodes for opioids as a drug group peaked at 7,731 in 2013–14 before falling to 4,722 episodes in 2021–22 then increasing to 5,289 in 2022–23 (Figure PHARMS 1, Table Drg.87). 

Figure PHARMS 1: Treatment episodes with pharmaceuticals as the principal drug of concern, by selected principal drugs of concern, 2013–14 to 2022–23

The line graph shows that amongst pharmaceutical drugs, benzodiazepines were the most common principal drug of concern for most years in the 10-year period to 2022–23, increasing from 2,650 episodes in 2013–14 to 3,354 episodes in 2022–23. 

Filters allow the user to toggle between viewing episode data on pharmaceutical drugs by pharmaceutical drug type, or in relation to the 5 most common principal drugs of concern in the AODTS NMDS. Filters also allow the user to toggle between the number and proportion of episodes. 

Client demographics

In 2022–23, 6,889 clients received treatment for any pharmaceutical drug as the principal drug of concern (Table SC.30). Of these clients:

  • 3 in 5 were male (62% of clients). The proportion of male clients receiving treatment for a pharmaceutical principal drug of concern ranged from 42% for codeine to 89% for steroids (Table SC.30).
  • 1 in 2 clients were aged either 20–29 (25%) or 30–39 (30%). The proportion of clients in each age group varied by PDOC:
    • Clients receiving treatment for benzodiazepines had the highest proportion of people aged 10–19 (17% of clients).
    • Most clients receiving treatment for opioids were aged either 30–39 or 40–49, ranging from 54% for oxycodone to 66% for buprenorphine (Table SC.31).
  • Around 1 in 7 were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people (14% of clients). The proportion of First Nations clients was highest for buprenorphine (27% of clients) (Table SC.32). 

 Treatment

In 2022–23, around 12,062 treatment episodes were provided to clients for pharmaceuticals as the principal drug of concern (Table Drg.87).

  • The most common sources of referral into treatment were self/family (40% of episodes) and health services (39%). This was relatively consistent across drug types, but diversion was the most common referral into treatment for steroid-related treatment episodes (38% of episodes) (Table Drg.90).
  • The most common main treatment types were assessment only (31% of episodes) and counselling (19%) (Figure PHARMS 3, Table Drg.89).
  • Most episodes took place in non-residential treatment facilities (72% of episodes), this was the most common treatment setting across drug types (Figure PHARMS 3, Table Drg.92).
  • Over 3 in 5 treatment episodes ended with a planned completion (62% of episodes, ranging from 57% for morphine as the PDOC to 79% for steroids). Around 1 in 5 episodes ended unexpectedly (18%) (Figure PHARMS 2, Table Drg.91).

Figure PHARMS 2: Treatment episodes with selected pharmaceutical drugs as the principal drug of concern, by main treatment type, treatment delivery setting or reason for cessation, 2022–23

The stacked horizontal bar chart shows that in 2022–23 assessment only was the most common main treatment type among most episodes for pharmaceutical drugs with the exception of benzodiazepines and codeine, ranging from 28.3% for methadone to 53.9% for buprenorphine. Counselling was the most common main treatment type in episodes where benzodiazepines (28.3% of episodes) was the principal drug of concern. Pharmacotherapy was the most common main treatment type in episodes where codeine (28.1% of episodes) was the principal drug of concern. A filter allows the user to view data for main treatment type, reason for cessation or treatment delivery setting.

Previous page
Next page