This report describes patterns of dispensing of respiratory medications in Australia through detailed analyses of Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme data, as well as other sources, to draw inferences about respiratory medication use among patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Summary This report focuses on medications dispensed for asthma (a chronic airways disease affecting children...

In 2003 asthma was the leading cause of burden of disease in Australian children, contributing 17.4% of total DALYs and the eleventh-leading contributor to the overall burden of disease in Australia, accounting for 2.4% of the total number of DALYs. Asthma also contributed a substantial proportion to the Indigenous health gap in the burden of...

This report describes the first study to use national data from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to investigate the patterns of asthma medication use in Australia.

This report provides a background to defining and measuring National Health Priority Area indicators for asthma. The issues surrounding the selection, operational definition and measurement of indicators for asthma are presented. The report incorporates the view of stakeholders who were consulted in the development process through workshops around Australia.