Executive summary. A current catalog price cannot explain the economics of a dispense that was purchased under a different invoice, contract, or date.
Definition
Acquisition cost is the documented amount paid to obtain a drug, including the applicable unit basis and the date of the purchase.
Keep the source evidence
Invoices, receipts, credits, and contracts answer different questions. Link the relevant source to the inventory movement instead of collapsing all of them into one unit-cost field that the next purchase overwrites.
Normalize package size and unit of measure before comparing anything. A price per bottle, per carton, per millilitre, and per each are four different numbers wearing the same label.
Do not substitute today’s price
Reimbursement analysis needs the cost basis that governed the transaction, or a clearly marked estimation method. Repricing an old dispense at today’s catalog price answers a different question from the one asked.
Returns, rebates, and retrospective credits deserve their own treatment. They can change a profitability figure. Leave the original purchase evidence intact regardless.
Frequently asked questions
Is NADAC the same as a pharmacy’s acquisition cost?
No. NADAC is a CMS-published national reference. An organization’s actual cost depends on its own invoices and contract terms.
Referenced standards and further reading
- CMS: NADAC methodology ↗Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
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