The objective of this proposal is to evaluate drug formularies used in a sample of 60 large, non-government hospitals with respect to selected therapeutic indicators. The primary measure employs dual standards that will be used to assess the inclusion of superior pharmaceutical preparations and the exclusion of inferior ones. Norms will be applied sequentially and are obtained from the FDA ranking of new, single-entity products introduced between 1950-73, the DESI evaluation of drug effectiveness, "The Medical Letter," and other sources of therapeutic discrimination. The study also will examine related characteristics including the nature of drug products listed infrequently, the extent to which combination antibiotics are sanctioned, the variability in dosage form and strength for selected items, the sources of supply for products deemed to have bioavailability problems, and the type of products subject to prescribing restrictions. These findings will be analyzed in terms of both normative and comparative dimensions. Variations in formulary performance will be related to hospital size, medical school affiliation, duration of formulary experience, and similar factors.