Report on the Review of Sales Transactions for Oxycodone-based Products in Atlantic Canada (Retail Pharmacies only)

4. Demographics

4.1 Regional and provincial

This section presents highlights showing the regional and provincial distribution of health professionals covered by this project and related volume of transactions.

Table 1: Summary table of the number of practitioners, physicians and prescribers (regional and provincial)

Description	Atlantic Canada**	NB	NS	NL	PE	Other Provinces*	UA
Population***	2,344,202	751,449	938,134	516,875	137,744
Number of Practitioners (physicians, dentists and veterinarians)	5,531	1,537	2,482	1,177	268	32	35
Number of Physicians	4,976	1,357	2,316	1,095	208	0	0
Number of Prescribers	2,867	997	1,042	588	176	31	33
Average Number of Prescribers per 100,000 Inhabitants	122	133	111	114	128

^* This refers to other Canadian provinces.

^** The column titled Atlantic Canada also includes practitioners from the United States and other Canadian provinces who generated prescriptions filled in Atlantic Canada as reported in sales reports received. This group of practitioners (US and other provinces) includes 64 prescribers who generated 3,045 transactions for oxycodone-based products.

^*** Statistics Canada Web site, post-census estimates, October 2004.

Figure 1 shows that:

• Nova Scotia has the highest number of prescribers at 1,042 and has the lowest number of prescribers per 100,000 inhabitants at 111, which is lower than the regional average of 122.
  
  
• New Brunswick has the highest number of prescribers per 100,000 inhabitants at 133.
  
  
• Prince Edward Island has the lowest number of prescribers at 176, but the second highest number of prescribers per 100,000 inhabitants at 128, which is close to the Atlantic Canada average of 122.
  
  
• Newfoundland has one of the lowest numbers of prescribers per 100, 000 inhabitants, at 114.

Figure 1: Number of prescribers and prescribers per 100,000 inhabitants, Atlantic Canada

The project's findings confirm that General Practice (GP) and Family Medicine (FM) represent the greatest number of prescribers regionally and provincially (refer to section 6).

Table 2 shows that:

• Prince Edward Island at 68 has an average volume of transactions per prescriber, 51% greater than the regional average at 45.
  
  
• New Brunswick at 60 has an average volume of transactions per prescriber, 33% greater than the regional average at 45.
  
  
• Newfoundland is close to the average at 46.
  
  
• Nova Scotia at 30 has an average volume of transactions per prescriber, 33% less than the regional average at 45.

Table 2: Summary table of the number of prescribers for General Practice and Family Medicine, and their respective volume of transactions generated

Region and Provinces	Prime Medical Specialty	Number of Prescribers	Volume of Transactions	Avg Volume of Transactions per Prescriber
NB
	FM	302	17,468	58
	GP	281	17,235	61
	total	583	34,703	60
NS
	GP	446	15,851	36
	FM	258	5,567	22
	total	704	21,418	30
NL
	GP	283	13,686	48
	FM	106	4,379	41
	total	389	18,065	46
PEI
	FM	44	3,069	70
	GP	45	2,954	66
	total	89	6,023	68
ATL
	GP	1,055	49,730	47
	FM	710	30,483	43
	total	1,765	80,213	45