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[Program for the substitution of therapeutic equivalents in the hospital setting]
O Delgado Sánchez1, F Puigventós Latorre, V Llodrá Ortola
1Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital Universitario Son Dureta, Palma de Mallorca.
Background:
A Program of Therapeutic Equivalents (TEP) is here reported which was elaborated and is currently in force at a third level university teaching hospital.
Materials And Methods:
Therapeutic equivalents were selected within the same pharmacologic group on the basis of approved indications and both efficiency and safety data.
Results:
TEP considers: a) the substitution of drugs which are considered therapeutic equivalents; b) withdrawal of drugs which have not proved efficiency or are of no interest for inpatients; c) continuation of therapies when changes are not advisable, and d) indistinct use of homologous drugs. From August 1998 up to April 1999, TEP was applied in 505 occasions; it was accepted in 499 (99%) and rejected in 6 (1%).
Discussions:
The substitution of therapeutic equivalents should be viewed in the context of selecting the most appropriate drugs to be used in the hospital setting. TEP should be a consensus document and supervised by the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Commission.