The results of a 1992 national survey of hospital-based pharmaceutical services are reported and compared with data collected during a similar survey in 1989. A questionnaire was mailed to pharmacy directors at all 3756 medical-surgical hospitals in the United States that had 50 or more licensed beds. Cost results were evaluated both as unadjusted data and as data adjusted for severity of illness with the case mix index. The response rate was 43% (1597 usable responses). Mean +/- S.D. unadjusted medication costs per occupied bed were $9850 +/- 4744 (a 46% increase over 1989 costs); significant differences were observed for geographic region, hospital ownership, drug delivery system, and pharmacy director's education. Mean +/- S.D. unadjusted total pharmacy costs per occupied bed were $16,550 +/- 6,249 (a 40% increase over 1989 costs); significant differences were observed for geographic region, hospital ownership, drug delivery system, and pharmacy director's education. Other mean +/- S.D. unadjusted pharmacy cost components were as follows: injectable solution costs, $2627 +/- 2191 (a 38% increase over 1989 costs); inventory costs, $2029 +/- 2593 (70% increase); pharmacist salary costs per occupied bed, $2997 +/- 1267 (33% increase); pharmacy technician costs per occupied bed, $995 +/- 876 (24% increase); pharmacist salary costs per full-time equivalent (FTE), $43,791 +/- 12,206 (14% increase); pharmacy technician salary costs per FTE, $18,953 +/- 6,154 (15% increase); and pharmacy staff development costs per occupied bed, $45 +/- 41 (29% increase). Pharmacist salary costs associated with centrally based clinical pharmacy services ranged from a high of $361 per occupied bed per year for drug-use evaluation to a low of $15 per occupied bed per year for inservice education. Pharmacist salary costs for patient-specific pharmaceutical services ranged from $3 per patient for medical rounds to $8 per patient for cardiopulmonary resuscitation team participation and drug protocol management. A 1992 survey provided comprehensive data on the cost structure of hospital-based pharmaceutical services and a basis for comparison with 1989 cost data.