P & T Committee rises to challenges of the changing healthcare environment

The ever-increasing importance of the P & T Committee is well illustrated in this exclusive interview with members of a committee from a leading academic, private-practice, health-science center--Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center. The participants detail the progress achieved in P & T Committee policy making, particularly in recent years. Unprecedented change in the healthcare environment has demanded a more aggressive P & T Committee, and theirs has responded appropriately. Because the medical staff at Rush constitute a unique blend of academicians and private practitioners, the mechanics of their decision making tends to be consensus-related, while the implementation of those decisions is education-oriented. Other P & T Committees can learn from their political and professional strategies in the management of drug therapy.