title: Biosimilars Are Here: A Hospital Pharmacist's Guide to Educating Health Care Professionals on Biosimilars.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pharmacists are the recognized experts in pharmacotherapy. With the recent introduction of biosimilar agents into the US market, pharmacists are poised to play a pivotal role in evaluating their risks versus benefits within the framework of cost containment.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article provides hospital pharmacists with the necessary information on the principles surrounding the development, approval process, and use of biosimilars.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information contained in this article enables hospital pharmacists to identify concerns relating to biosimilars, implement educational components, and successfully evaluate biosimilars for the addition to the formulary. Additionally, this article reviews the European experience with biosimilars, the US Food and Drug Administration approval process, and postauthorization safety and pharmacovigilance programs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is important to educate health care providers about the differences between biosimilars and their reference biologics. The adoption of biosimilars is necessary to control long-term costs of biologics, increase patient access to care, and encourage innovation.
authors.affiliation: Medication Safety Officer, Carolinas HealthCare System , Charlotte, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jarrett
authors.affiliation: Professor, Institute for Pharmaceutical Biology , Frankfurt, Germany .
authors.forename: Theodor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dingermann
keywords: P&T; Retacrit; biosimilars; education; filgrastim; pharmacoeconomics