PHYSICIANS PERCEPTIONS AND KNOWLEDGE OF DRUG COSTS - RESULTS OF A SURVEY

The objective of this survey was to determine physicians' opinions of the importance of drug costs, sources of drug cost information used, p references for mechanisms to lower drug costs, and to assess knowledge of the relative cost of common drugs. A questionnaire containing opin ion statements and five categories of drugs to be ranked from least to most expensive was sent to 598 physicians at our tertiary-care, unive rsity-affiliated teaching hospital. In all, 398 (66.6%) surveys were c ompleted. Survey results indicate that physicians are interested in lo wering the cost of drug therapy, and that they are knowledgeable of re lative drug costs hut would like more cost information to make more in formed prescribing decisions, Most believe that a readily available dr ug cost index is the most beneficial mechanism to decrease drug expend itures.