Pharmaceutical services in a third-party system: an analysis.

The pharmacy system of the U.S. Army Health Services Command (HSC) is presented as a model of a third-party governmentally operated pharmacy system. The system is analyzed for FY 1979 and compared with national averages for a similar time frame. Within HSC, the pharmacists to supported population ratio is 12:100,000, the pharmacist to technician ratio is 1:1.3, each outpatient pharmacy supports 54,041 people, each hospital supports 84,713 people, and the HSC pharmacy cost per beneficiary per year is $14.44. The average pharmacist's salary is $22,000 per year, and the average technician's salary is $13,000. When the resource commitment for pharmacy services by HSC is compared to national averages, HSC supports a given population with fewer pharmacists, less drug costs, and fewer pharmacy facilities. HSC also supports a given population with fewer beds and admissions than the national average. The salary per pharmacist is comparable for HSC and the national average; however, within HSC, technicians receive a larger salary than the national average. It is concluded that, for a given population, HSC commits fewer resources in support of pharmacy services than the national average.