Escitalopram prescription data for 2020

22 June 2021

Dear [name and contact details withheld] 

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Thank you for your request dated 10 June 2021 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to escitalopram prescriptions. You requested: 

Data showing dose-based scripts for escitalopram…for 2020 

Secondly…the number of people who take 10mg of escitalopram versus the number of people who take 20mg doses 

Escitalopram prescriptions dispensed in calendar year 2020

Formulation

Number of prescriptions dispensed

Number of people dispensed

Tab 10mg

163,644

59,574

Tab 20mg

55,728

19,118

Note:

  • Data is for community dispensings only (excludes inpatient Hospital use).
  • The number of prescriptions is a count of initial dispensings only. This number does not include "repeat" dispensings on the same prescription.
  • The number of people is a count of the unique number of people who received the specific formulation at any point in the calendar year.
  • People would be counted twice if they switched formulations within the year.
  • We do not hold complete information about what dose a person is prescribed, only the formulation and quantity they are dispensed. We have not provided the number of people who “take” 10mg of escitalopram versus the number of people who “take” 20mg as we do not hold this information and do not believe any other department holds this information (section 18(g)(i) of the OIA). 

Please note you have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(3) of the OIA to an Ombudsman, to seek an investigation and review of our decision. 

We trust that this information answers your queries. We are making our information more freely available, so we now publish selected OIA responses (excluding personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this. 

Yours sincerely

Rachel Read
Manager, Policy and Government Services