Evaluation of a DUR intervention: a case study of histamine antagonists.

Drug Utilization Review (DUR) programs aim to control inappropriate prescribing and drug costs, but there are few rigorous studies of their impact. This paper presents the evaluation results of a DUR intervention (excessive duration of full-dose histamine-2 receptor antagonists) using a quasi-experimental design. We observe a greater reduction of H2RA use in the intervention group than in the comparison group, and a reduction in drug expenditures which exceeded the cost of targeting and notifying prescribers. The success of DUR programs depends on both their efficiency and the drug issues under consideration; the use of a comparison group is critical in the evaluation of their impact.