Improving patient care and pharmacy management: the effect of hospital formularies

A study of the organizational features and implementation procedures associated with formulary use in major acute-care hospitals throughout Australia was undertaken. Data were collected via a questionnaire mailed to 57 directors of pharmacy. An 86-percent response was obtained. A high proportion of formularies was found to rate poorly in terms of organizational features (e.g., content, compilation methods, format) and process variables (e.g., effectiveness as a communication document, prescribing aid, or management tool). Methods of improving formulary effectiveness are outlined in the context of practical and normative research, including improving the quality of drug therapy, use of formularies in cost control, and improving user acceptance. The results confirm previous research showing that methods of improving organizational features and implementation procedures associated with formulary compilation and use are neither widely applied nor widely known. There is an urgent need to reassess the usefulness of formularies and improve their effectiveness by adopting recommendations resulting from past research.