Developing dashboards to measure and manage inpatient pharmacy costs

A pharmacy dashboard was developed and implemented to identify trends in drug use; normalize data for patient volumes; allow the user to determine whether changes were due to cost increases, actual use changes, or both; permit evaluation of drug use within key diagnoses for individual services; and allow multiple formats and layers of analysis.

At the University of Michigan, a drug cost and drug-use database had been developed, and an enterprise data warehouse had been implemented. The data warehouse served as the core data source for the pharmacy dashboard effort. The department of pharmacy services worked with the clinical information and decision support services (CIDSS) unit to develop and promote the use of the pharmacy dashboard. On the basis of the core data in the data warehouse, the dashboard was designed to harness these data for the useful and actionable presentation to service chiefs, individual house officers, and administration for a better understanding of drug costs and use within the institution. In addition to the drug cost and drug-use trend data, the dashboard included help features such as access to the Drugdex database for detailed clinical information about specific drugs, including indications, adverse effects, and drug interactions.

The cost reports that were developed through the collaboration between the CIDSS and the department of pharmacy services have permitted a more robust understanding of drug-use trends by a wider audience of physician leaders and clinical pharmacists at the institution. These data are critical in formulating strategies to control drug expenses by each service.