The Need for Unification: Assessing Variability in Top 200/300 Drug Lists at 7 Schools of Pharmacy

To assess the variability of Top 200/300 drug lists used by pharmacy programs and commonly used resources. A secondary objective was to compare educational assessment procedures for information from Top 200/300 drug lists between institutions.

The Top 200/300 drug list from 7 schools of pharmacy and 4 resources were compared to determine the variability in content. Using generic names, drug lists were analyzed by 2 investigators who independently completed the comparison and met to reach a consensus. Information on formative and summative assessment processes was also gathered from 7 schools of pharmacy. Descriptive statistics were used to report the findings.

After combining all school and resource lists, 572 unique generic medications were included; of these, only 36 medications were included on all 7 school lists and all 4 resource lists. There were 89 drugs on resource lists that were not included on any school's list, and an additional 125 drugs were included on 1 or more school lists but not on any resource list. The majority of schools used AccessPharmacy and faculty input to create their Top 200/300 drug lists. Comparing assessment processes, all schools evaluated brand and generic names, with some schools evaluating additional items. Assessment frequency varied from once weekly to once a semester.

Significant variation among Top 200/300 drug lists was demonstrated across a sample of pharmacy programs and resource lists. Establishing a single, unified drug list would enhance educational alignment across the pharmacy academy.