Drug Class Reviews
It’s our overall principle that a Preferred Drug List (PDL) needs to provide a selection of preferred drugs that allow primary care physicians to care for the majority of their patients with minimal Prior Authorization (PA) requests being necessary. Our therapeutic class reviews provide the critical scientific information the Committee needs to make these judgments in a thoughtful and responsible manner.
Drug class reviews are compilations of scientific information about specific drugs that are used to inform P & T Committee members about the choices available within a given therapeutic drug class. GHS specializes in tailoring these reviews to the specific needs of the client while also providing helpful information to Committee members. Our therapeutic class reviews focus on the clinically meaningful differences between drugs within a therapeutic category (e.g. “Inhaled Agonists” or “Alzheimer’s Agents”) that have an impact on the P & T Committee’s decisions as to whether to designate a specific agent as a preferred drug.
Evidence-based information is the cornerstone of a successful PDL that is clinically appropriate and has the “buy-in” of the prescribing community. There is no longer a shortage of evidence- based information available upon which to build a solid foundation for a PDL. The goal of providing these concise reviews to the P & T Committee is to assist the members in arriving at a rationale evidence-based assessment of which drugs represent the best combination of clinical efficacy and value.
Committee members need to be informed of both the negative and positive attributes of the drug therapies they will be recommending as preferred or non-preferred agents for the PDL. Especially important is evidence-based information based on disease outcomes such as mortality or stroke versus evidence that supports a drug’s effect only on intermediate markers such as lowering of blood pressure or cholesterol. Incorporating evidence-based medical principals, we present the information in a format that is easily incorporated into the PDL decision process.