The Price of Preparedness: An Economic Evaluation of an OSCE in Pharmacy Training

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine and analyze costs associated with administering an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) at pharmacy programs. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review was conducted alongside an in-depth analysis of three distinct OSCE programs. Costs were categorized as direct and indirect expenses. Indirect expenses, such as educational infrastructure costs, were excluded due to difficulty to attribute to individual cost units. The analysis of direct costs focused on personnel time associated with the OSCE process, including faculty, support staff, and standardized patients, as this represented the most measurable and consistently reportable cost component. The three Pharm.D. programs included cohorts of 50, 75, and 90 students per class (mean 72) and costs were evaluated accordingly. RESULTS: The study found that a three-station OSCE required a total of 250 personnel hours and incurred a direct cost of $12,121. The majority of costs (54%) occurred on the day of the OSCE, with faculty time representing the highest expense. An additional 22% of costs were attributed to pre-event activities, including case development and preparation, and faculty and standardized patient training. Post-OSCE activities accounted for the remaining 24% of costs, primarily related to faculty time for student assessment. CONCLUSION: Implementing OSCEs in pharmacy programs requires financial investment, with personnel costs on the examination day accounting for the majority of total expenditures. A byproduct of this study was the development of practical tools that allow pharmacy programs to identify key cost drivers and explore cost-saving strategies while maintaining the quality of OSCE-based assessments.