[e-drug] Myths about hospital formularies persist (6)

["Dr.L.Offerhaus" <offerhausl@euronet.nl>]

E-DRUG: Myths about hospital formularies persist (6)
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Dear E-druggers

This remains an interesting discussion. At this late stage still a few 
remarks: My experience here in Holland has been that in the first instance 
a hospital formulary aims at rationalizing drug treatment, and is not 
primarily introduced to decrease cost. I have assisted with the composition 
of two formularies for large community hospitals, and during the first two 
years expenses actually increased; only after some time physicians really 
understood what the meaning was, and expenses slowly went down. It was 
therefore very clever that the South African authorities started developing 
treatment guidelines, and formularies were only at a later stage derived 
from such guidelines by selecting the drugs which were judged appropriate 
for those treatment modules. If introduced in this way outside influence is 
automatically neutralized. One should not start with a formulary and then 
wait what happens.

Good luck and best wishes,

Leo Offerhaus
offerhausl@euronet.nl

[I very much agree! KM]