Value in Thrombosis Management

Continued on next page Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committees evaluate new opportunities for therapeutic interchange (TI) on an ongoing basis. According to a recent survey, more than 80% of general and children’s medical-surgical hospitals in the United States use TI programs.1 These programs promote the interchange of therapeutically equivalent but chemically unique drugs in accordance with established policies and procedures within an organized health care system’s evidence-based formulary. The primary goal is to reduce the total cost of therapy without compromising patient care. As health systems strive to reduce drug budgets, market-share based low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) purchasing contracts have drawn the attention of many drug budget managers. A National Therapeutic Interchange Scientific Assessment Panel met in Pittsburgh, PA in June, 2000 to develop a model, which defines essential criteria and critical aspects of review for assessing any TI program. The Panel applied this model of analysis to LMWHs as a class. This article describes this analysis in ascertaining whether or not a LMWH TI program could reduce total costs without compromising patient care.