Rattled by drug price increases, hospitals seek ways to stay on guard

Doctors at the University Hospitals of Cleveland see an immediately recognizable symbol pop up alongside certain drugs when they sign in online these days to prescribe medications for patients: $$$$$. The dollar signs, affixed by hospital administrators, carry a not-so-subtle message: Think twice before using this drug. Pick an alternative if possible. The Zagat-like approach is just one of the strategies hospitals nationwide are using to try to counter drug costs. It was inspired in part by Shawn Osborne, the University Hospitals system’s vice president of pharmacy services, who saw unexpected price hikes wreak havoc on his budget last year.