Tapentadol is the only PBS-listed opioid to see a significant growth in prescriptions over recent years, amid an overall decline for all other subsidised opioid analgesics, new data show.

A review by the PBAC’s Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee (DUSC) found that between 2018 and 2021 annual tapentadol prescriptions rose from nearly 820,000 to about 1.17 million — an increase of 43%.

In contrast, total opioid scripts and the number of supplied defined daily doses fell by 4% and 11%, respectively, over the same period.

The analysis of PBS claims and prescription data was carried out to determine the impact of the 2020 opioid prescribing reforms.