Proposed drug-drug cost effectiveness methodology.

The advent of prospective reimbursement in hospitals has forced hospital administrators, pharmacy directors, and pharmacy and therapeutic committees to carefully compare the cost and benefits of similar drugs. Accomplishing this task is difficult. This paper reviews the literature on drug-drug cost effectiveness procedures and outlines a methodology that might be used to contrast and compare two drugs with similar therapeutic outcomes. The data to conduct this analysis can be obtained from published articles on clinical studies and company sources and entered into a microcomputer electronic spreadsheet. The study discusses the implications and use of cost effectiveness analysis to evaluate drugs by hospital formulary committees.