The Use of Economic Models in Managed Care Pharmacy Decisions Kent H .

In light of concerns about rising pharmaceutical expenditures, managed care organizations call upon clinical pharmacists to include economic factors in their decisions regarding product selections for formulary inclusion. Good decisions increase the likelihood of achieving the desired bal, ance between providing high-quality care and containing overall health care' costs. Given time limitations and the wide variety and quantity of data sources available for potential incorporation into decisions, pharmacists often face the risk of making suboptimal decision recommendations to Pharmacy and Therapeutic committees. Pharmacists can use a structured decision-making process that utilizes decision-analytic and health-economic models to optimize these recommendations. Such an approach also permits a strong