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

OBJECTIVE: To assess the variability of Top 200/300 drug lists utilized 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. METHODS: The Top 200/300 drug list from seven schools of pharmacy and four resources were compared to determine variability in the content. Using generic names, drug lists were analyzed by two investigators who independently completed the comparison and met to reach a consensus. Information on formative and summative assessment processes was also gathered from the seven schools of pharmacy. Descriptive statistics were utilized to report findings. RESULTS: After combining all school and resource lists, 572 unique generic medications were included; of these, only 36 medications were included on all seven school lists and all four resource lists. There were 89 drugs on resource lists that were not included on any school's list and an additional 125 drugs included on one 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. When 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. CONCLUSION: Significant variation among Top 200/300 drug lists was demonstrated across a sampling of pharmacy programs and resource lists. Establishing a single, unified drug list would enhance educational alignment across the pharmacy academy.