ASHP Guidelines on Medication Cost Management Strategies for Hospitals and Health Systems

摘要

Medication costs continue to rise and will continue to be a target for cost management. Drug costs make up a majority of health-system pharmacy budgets, and budgeting for these expenses is an important function, but longer-term programmatic and policy planning is also essential for successful cost management. An effective plan for medication utilization management must provide the health system with a road map for continuous improvement in pharmaceutical expense containment with specific goals and outcome measures of success. Gathering the data to understand drug expenditures and drug-use patterns is a prerequisite for cost-savings efforts, and constant vigilance and monitoring of these data are required.