Controversies in Treatment: How can hospitals ration drugs? Drug rationing in a teaching hospital: a method to assign priorities

Abstract

When drug budgets are unable to accommodate all new drug requests, a\ndilemma arises when additional funds become available -- which drugs should\nreceive priority? The drug committee at Royal Adelaide Hospital devised a\nscheme, which they describe here, to rank drug requests to obtain the greatest\nbenefit for the most patients for each dollar spent. We asked a health\neconomist, a clinical pharmacologist, and a moral philosopher to give their\nperspectives on this form of rationing, and we then gave the authors an\nopportunity to respond.