Therapeutic Classes and Subclasses

Each organization divides a formulary into several therapeutic classes and subclasses. These combinations of therapeutic classes and subclasses define and classify drug usage in conjunction with the health care plan.

Therapeutic classes group similar drugs either by the disease they treat or by the effect on the body. Therapeutic subclasses further categorize the drugs into smaller groups. A drug usually belongs to one combination of class and subclass. However, some drugs are commonly included in multiple classes because they have multiple indications.