Is the number of surgical day cases a good indicator of rising drug costs?

SUMMARY There have been various attempts to reduce the expenditure on drugs–limited lists, drug formularies, prescribing policies, etc. The number of occupied beds in hospitals has fallen, and other indicators of hospital work have altered little. In spite of this, the expenditure on drugs by the hospitals in Wales has continued to rise. Taking two groups (antibiotics and anaesthetic agents) as examples of the high–cost drugs, the expenditure has been related to a number of indicators of the workload of a hospital. No clear relationship between any one indicator has been demonstrated although the number of surgical day cases is an important factor.