Health Services Discontinues Study Of Drug Prices in Harvard Square

The Pharmacy Committee of the University Health Services decided yesterday to discontinue its study of prescription drug prices charged in the Square. The investigation was begun in response to frequent student complaints about unusually high drug costs.

Dr. Mark Novitch, assistant physician to the UHS, who headed the investigation, said, "My firm impression is that there are variabilities, but not gross inequities in the cost of drugs in and out of the Square." He based his opinion on raw data gathered last spring which he has submitted for statistical analysis. A conclusive report, he said, should be ready within the week.

However, the Pharmacy Committee in general has felt that prices tend to be slightly higher in the Square than else where in the Cambridge vicinity. In any case, a great deal of variation in prices of specific drugs has been noted over a period of time.

Drug Costs Down?

One doctor commented last night that prices of drugs in the Square seem to have been reduced since the drung stores learned of the UHS study.

The investigation began last March. UHS doctors who wished to cooperate in the study gave their patients information cards to fill out, asking for the quantity and price of the prescribed drug and the place of purchase.

Over 100 of the cards were returned to Novitch, However, the responses posed several problems in the evaluation of comparative prices.

The prices of 35 different drugs were reported. This made a comparative study of prices for specific drugs nearly impossible since no drug's price was reported more than a few times.

Furthermore, different quantities of the drugs had been prescribed -- and prices vary with the quantity of the prescription. In addition, students filled the prescriptions at drug stores throughout the Boson area. Some of the stores reported were wholesale outlets and some retail, like the pharmacies in the Square.

Another complicating factor was the difference between trade and generic names of the prescribed drugs. The generic name is simply the chemical name and a prescription specifying the compound this way is usually less expensive. Doctors may write the prescription another way, depending on their personal preference. This results in different prices for identical drugs.

If the study had been continued. Novitch said that it would have been limited to a selected list of drugs and to a specified dosage in order to simplify the statistical evaluation