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Structure and procedures of the pharmacy and therapeutic committees in Spanish hospitals

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Abstract

Objective Define the structure and working procedures of the Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committees (P&T Committees) in Spanish hospitals. Setting Hospitals over 75 beds located in all regions of the Spanish State. Method A cross-sectional descriptive study based on the completion of a questionnaire that consisted of 138 questions. The participants were recruited by post, e-mail and telephone between November 2007 and January 2008. The Hospitals were classified according to their size and public or private and university or non-university status. Main outcome measures They are related with the structure and composition of the P&T Committees, performance, drug evaluation process, working methods and the results of their activity. Results A total of 200 hospitals answered the questionnaire (response rate of 39.0% of hospitals and 57.1% of the beds in Spain). All the hospitals have P&T Committees, 99.5% have a Drug Formulary, 71.0% have a Therapeutic Interchange Programme and 91.0% have a document determining the mission, objectives and functions of the P&T Committee. Almost all hospitals (95.5%) have established a formal application for the inclusion of a drug in the hospital, while 80.5% have established a model for evaluation reports. The mean (SD) number of participants in P&T Committees was 11.84 (3.82). The annual mean of drugs evaluated per hospital was 10.35 (7.45). The proportion of assessments that concludes the inclusion, rejection or deferral of the decision was 75.3, 21.4 and 3.2%, respectively. Conclusion Spanish P&T Committees have a similar structure and function, a multi-disciplinary professional composition to carry out an important assessment activity. This activity is higher in large hospitals and in university hospitals. The proportion of the approved and rejected drugs is similar in different types of hospital. The Therapeutic Interchange Guidelines, the use of application models and the reports follow the indications of scientific collaborative groups, thus being used more in Spain than in other countries.

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Acknowledgments

T. Requena (Hospital Universitario La Paz. Madrid), J. P. Ordovás (Hospital General Universitario de Alicante), M. A. Porta (Hospital Universitario Juan Canalejo. La Coruña), J. M. Recalde (Centro Andaluz de Documentación e Información de Medicamentos. Granada), C. Calvo (Servicio de Salud de Illes Balears. Palma de Mallorca), E. Corpas, L. García-Mochón and M. Moya (Escuela Andaluza de Salud Pública. Granada).

Funding

This study was supported by the Carlos III Health Institute (Instituto de Salud Carlos III), Ministry of Health and Social Policy in Spain.

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pharmacy Department, Hospital Universitario Son Dureta, C/ Andrea Doria nº. 55, 07014, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Francesc Puigventós

  2. Pharmacy Department, Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocio, Avda. Manuel Siurot s/n., 41013, Seville, Spain

    Bernardo Santos-Ramos

  3. Pharmacy Department, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, C/ Pio XII nº. 36, 31008 , Pamplona, Spain

    Ana Ortega

  4. Pharmacy Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, C/ Dr. Esquerdo nº. 46, 28007, Madrid, Spain

    Esther Durán-García

Authors
  1. Francesc Puigventós
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  2. Bernardo Santos-Ramos
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  3. Ana Ortega
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  4. Esther Durán-García
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesc Puigventós.

Additional information

From the Group for Innovation, Assessment, Standardisation and Research in the Selection of Drugs (GENESIS) of the Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy (SEFH).

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Puigventós, F., Santos-Ramos, B., Ortega, A. et al. Structure and procedures of the pharmacy and therapeutic committees in Spanish hospitals. Pharm World Sci 32, 767–775 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-010-9435-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-010-9435-4

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