Since Nov. 3, physicians at Stanford Hospital have been using a drug formulary that is designed to help channel medication selections in a safe, effective and efficient drug manner. Now, medications costing several hundred to several thousand dollars per dose are not uncommon. It's obvious that the need to reduce costs must be the goal of both physicians and pharmacists working together.
Cost is only one of many factors influencing prescription habits, obviously.
For one thing, we've had significant therapeutic advances in drugs in the last few years. Gregory has said the institution cannot make significant further cuts without the help of doctors, because to do so could compromise clinical care. This eventuality is expected to be infrequent. Gregory and Shuer told the Medical Board in January that the number of requests for exceptions has been small. Representing what White calls a paradigm shift in health care tradition, patients may bring in their own drugs if they are not on the formulary, particularly if they need to continue medications for conditions unrelated to their admission.