Tables showing inter-county statistics are only included for som ATC groups.
County statistic is omitted in many ATC groups due to skewness in distribution from wholesalers in some counties. This skewness is due to sales from wholesalers to multidose dispensing companies. The sales to these companies will be registered on the county where the company are situated while the company may distribute the mulidose pakages to all parts of Norway.
It should be emphasised that the sales per county are based on sales from wholesalers to pharmacy/nursery homes/hospitals and not according to the residence of the consumers.
In NorPD, however, the sales from pharmacies of prescription medicines could be registered according to the residence of the patients. County statistics may therefore vary somewhat based on what sources are used. Data from NorPD can be retrieved from the website www.norpd.no.
The inter-county differences have been relatively stable over time. A county with a high consumption one year normally shows a correspondingly high consumption in previous years.
An overview of population by age for all counties is included here).