Over the last years a dynamic development of a new interdisciplinary science - pharmacoeconomics can be observed in Poland. The objective of pharmacoeconomic research is to optimize pharmacotherapy in order to improve drug management.

The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge level in the field of pharmacoeconomics among V years students of the Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok. 78 students took part in this study (37 females, 41 males, mean age: 24 years). It was an anonymous survey study based on specifically-designed questionnaire. 62 persons (91%) declared the will to acquire more knowledge in the area of pharmacoeconomics. 52 persons (77%) supported an idea of a creation of a pharmacoeconomic special interest group in the Medical University of Bialystok, 44 (65%) would like take part in a training course devoted to pharmacoeconomics. Only 12 persons (18%) heard about the Polish Chapter of the Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, no one is a member of this organization. A cost of drug was perceived as a main criterion in decision- making process concerning drug management in a healthcare organization. Among barriers obstructing practical use of pharmacoeconomic analyses for management in Poland, difficult access to cost data and low trustfulness of available data were indicated. An importance of criteria taken into account while including drugs into hospital formulary covered: effectiveness (indicated by 53%), cost (26%) and savings in a hospital (21%). 90% of people have chosen a cost of illness analysis as the most suitable for management purposes. This argument as many others clearly proved that respondents did not understand a meaning of different types of pharmacoeconomic analyses and their applications. They did not perform pharmacoeconomic research themselves in the past, neither used published studies.

The results of this study highlight the necessity of more educational initiatives in the area of pharmacoeconomics in Poland.