Estimated numbers of people prescribed opioid substitution therapy in Scotland
Scottish Public Health Observatory September update

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides a Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) update for the Drugs topic area, where the 'Prescribing for Drug Use' page contains new data.

Main points

Drugs: prescribing for drug use

Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) drug prescribing – community:

• In 2023/24, the number of paid items for OST drugs was 416,092.
• In 2023/24 the dispensing of methadone was equivalent to 9.4 Defined Daily Doses (DDDs) per 1,000 population per day.
• Oral buprenorphine dispensing was equivalent to 1.17 DDDs per 1,000 population per day in 2023/24.
• Injectable buprenorphine dispensing (including Buvidal© slow-release formulations) was equivalent to 0.94 DDDs per 1,000 population per day in 2023/24.
• In 2023/24, the dispensing of buprenorphine and naloxone combined (Suboxone) was equivalent to 0.18 DDDs per 1,000 population per day.

Patient estimates - community:

• In 2023/24, methadone was prescribed to a minimum of 20,540 people for the treatment of opioid dependence.
• In 2023/24, oral buprenorphine was prescribed to a minimum of 7,415 people for the treatment of opioid dependence.
• In 2023/24 Q4, it was estimated that 3,716 people were prescribed injectable buprenorphine in Scotland.

Annual and quarterly (12 month rolling) OST patient estimates:

Based on data from the Prescribing Information System (PIS) only: 

• In 2023/24, OST was prescribed to an estimated minimum of 28,537 people in Scotland.

Based on data from Prescribing Information System (PIS) and Hospital Medicines Utilisation Database (HMUD): 

• In 2023/24, including patients supplied with injectable buprenorphine via hospital stock order systems, it is estimated that OST was prescribed to a minimum of 29,817 people in Scotland.

Background

These figures estimate the number of individuals prescribed Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) drugs for the treatment of opioid dependence from legacy British National Formulary (BNF) subsection 04.10.03. This includes methadone hydrochloride, buprenorphine, buprenorphine & naloxone and long-acting buprenorphine (including Buvidal© slow-release formulations). Lofexidine hydrochloride and naltrexone hydrochloride (both primarily used for the management of opioid withdrawal) are not included. 

The variable quality of the underlying data means that these figures, and comparisons over time, should be treated with caution. Due to the public interest in OST prescribing, these statistics are published as management information.

The Scottish Public Health Observatory collaboration is led by PHS and includes the Glasgow Centre for Population Health, National Records of Scotland, the Medical Research Council/Chief Scientist Office Social and Public Health Sciences Unit and the Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory. 

The aim of the collaboration is to make public health information more accessible, to promote the reduction in inequalities and to inform health improvement in Scotland. 

Further information

Data from this publication are available from the publication page of the ScotPHO website.

The next ScotPHO annual update will be released in Summer 2025.

The next release of these statistics will be during Summer 2025.