Overall Volume of Opioids Prescribed
Identifying Attributes
Care Settings
Primary Care
Country
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publishing Organisation
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): Healthcare Quality and Outcomes (HCQO) indicators - Primary Care - Prescribing Indicators
Type of Quality Indicator
Outcome
IOM Quality Dimension
Safety
Domain
Medications and Medication Management
Defining Attributes
Definition
Overall volume of opioids prescribed (Defined Daily Doses per 1000 population per day)
Numerator
Sum DDD of all ATC N02A prescriptions
Denominator
Number of individuals ≥ 18 years of age on 1 January
Exclusions
Methadone and buprenorphine/naloxone combinations (Suboxone) are excluded from all analyses, as these products are most often used in the treatment of addiction and the focus of this collection is opioids for pain.
Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments
Stratifications
Collection and Reporting Attributes
Type of Data Collection
Administrative data
Data Collection Methods
OECD
Frequency of Data Collection
Annually
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
365
Reporting Methods
Reporting Frequency
Annually
Reporting Frequency in Days
365
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No
Source and Reference Attributes
Evidence Source
Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
Yes
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
02 December 2025
Contents
Actions
Date Modified 02 December 2025