An e-mail system for obtaining approval to use a restricted agent

Because of concerns over cost, proper patient selection, and prescribing patterns, pharmacy and therapeutics committees must be very selective about which new medications can be added to formularies and used in health systems. However, in the final analysis, many problems with important new agents are easily solved when clinicians select the right patients and prescribe these agents properly. Physician specialists in appropriate fields often already know about important new medications from clinical trials, professional meetings, and published articles. In such cases, these specialists can help with the needed diffusion of information to other physicians so that a broad range of prescribers in a health system become familiar with the new agent, its advantages, what types of patients need the drug, and what problems may be encountered.