The effect of physician education on knowledge of drug therapeutics and costs

To determine if a clinical pharmacist-sponsored education program regarding physician knowledge of drug costs and therapeutics would change drug utilization and costs for specific high-cost groups of drugs in a pediatric critical care unit (PCCU).

Prescribers within the PCCU completed a questionnaire addressing drug costs and therapeutic issues. Subsequent to the questionnaire the PCCU liaison pharmacist implemented a visual display of monthly drug costs, an education program that included the presentation of questionnaire results, and drug information lectures discussing controversial therapeutic issues. After the education program participants again completed the questionnaire.

The study was conducted in a 13-bed PCCU in a regional children's hospital. The participants were postgraduate trainees in pediatrics and critical care medicine as well as attending staff in the PCCU.

The main outcome measure was the score on a test addressing drug costs and therapeutic issues.

The mean overall posteducation score (52.5 percent) improved significantly from the preeducation score (46.4 percent). The preeducation questionnaire results indicated increased knowledge of costs by residents and increased knowledge of therapeutics by attending physicians. The number of educational sessions attended appeared to be associated with improvement in overall questionnaire scores.

There was improvement in knowledge of drug costs and therapeutics associated with the educational program. Although this relationship did not reach statistical significance, this may be related to the relatively small sample size of our study. Our results suggest that clinical pharmacists can positively influence physicians' knowledge on drug costs and therapeutics.