Purchasing and inventory control--past, present, and future

Factors that have affected hospital pharmacy purchasing and inventory control functions are discussed, and future trends are suggested. The concepts of the pharmacy and therapeutics committee and the hospital formulary system stemmed from early hospital pharmacy practice standards that were promulgated about the time drug products began to proliferate. Brand standardization, restricted drug-use policies, and selection of therapeutic alternates are among the approaches P & T committees have devised to hold down hospital drug costs; these efforts will expand. Brand-comparison advertising, use of various incentives to physicians and pharmacists, premarketing publicity about new products, improved product packaging, and support of research studies are among the promotional tactics pharmaceutical manufacturers have employed and are likely to expand. Government legislation and regulations that have had the effect of increasing the cost of drugs may be modified. Hospital pharmacists should monitor developments such as these to prepare themselves for the challenges in their purchasing and inventory control responsibilities.