Introduction
The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (RPBS) are Australian Government health programs that subsidise the cost of a wide range of medicines in Australia. The PBS began in 1948 and is available to current Medicare card holders as well as to overseas visitors from countries with Reciprocal Health Care Agreements with Australia. The RPBS was established in 1919 for returning Australian service people who had served in previous wars. Veterans, war widows and widowers, and their dependants are eligible for the RPBS if they have an assessed clinical need for the item and hold a Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) Gold, White or Orange card.
This report is a companion to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme prescriptions: monthly data – dashboard and adds to reporting conducted by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care on PBS statistics.
This report focuses on 2 key measures (calculated monthly and annually):
- The proportion of the costs of the PBS subsidised prescriptions that were paid by the Australian Government, as opposed to being funded through patient co-payments. This measure is referred to as the PBS expenditure rate or expenditure rate.
- The number of PBS prescriptions dispensed per person. Referred to as the PBS prescription rate or prescription rate.