SURVEILLANCE

The Medication Monitoring Prograrrf' " (MMP) is a research operation of the Upjohn Company Division of Medical Affairs established for the purpose of conducting stud-ies of marketed medications under conditions of usual use. This report describes five pharmacy-based studies conducted through the MMP. The basic methodology is re-viewed, some of the analyses are presented, and advantages and disadvantages are discussed. The author concludes that the pharmacy-based method is effective for mon-itoring drug use on an outpatient basis. It is possible to obtain in formation about use patterns, safety, and therapeutic benefit. However, no single method of post-marketing surveillance satisfies all requirements. Multiple complimentary methods are necessary for a comprehensive approoch to postmarketing drug evaluation. Key Words: Drug epidemiology; Medication Monitoring Program; Methodology; Pharmacy-based studies; Post-marketing surveillanc