title: [Comparative profile of medications at the "Hospital Infantil de México" and the "Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social"].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Compare the distribution of medications according to therapeutic groups (TGs) as a function of codes, cost, price weighted index (PWI) and volume between the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, a conglomerate of hospitals and family medicine clinics and the Hospital Infantil de México "Federico Gómez" a tertiary care referral pediatric hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medications were classified by TGs according to drug code, purchase cost, PWI, and volumes purchased.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TGs showed similar profiles according to cost of purchase, volume and code numbers, not according to PWI. There were only minor differences in cost among the 15 most expensive medications among both institutions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite the marked asymmetry between both institutions, drug profiles were not significantly different, to a large extent due to the fact that the Hospital Infantil de Mexico acquires all TGs.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Evaluación y Análisis de Medicamentos, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, México D.F., México. ljasso@himfg.edu.mx
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jasso-Gutiérrez
authors.forename: José Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Santos-Preciado
mesh_terms: D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006268:Health Facilities; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006801:Humans; D008800:Mexico; D012943:Social Security