Challenges of a P & T Committee in a community teaching hospital

Lutheran General Hospital, a 650-bed, tertiary care and trauma center in Park Ridge, Illinois, has had a P & T Committee in place for 11 years. In this exclusive Hospital Formulary interview, David Cooke, MD, and Jackie Kessler, MS, the respective chairman and secretary of that committee, discuss the challenges their committee faces. Somewhat unique to a community hospital, this committee manages a relatively restricted formulary. They attribute their success to dedicated P & T Committee members and a committed pharmacy. Among the more difficult issues still to be resolved at Lutheran General are relationships between pharmaceutical companies and P & T members and the possible institution of a conflict-of-interest disclosure policy, as well as the never-ending battle of evaluating drug use in their institution.