Compare the distribution of medications according to therapeutic groups (TGs) as a function of codes, cost, price weighted index (PWI) and volume between the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, a conglomerate of hospitals and family medicine clinics and the Hospital Infantil de México "Federico Gómez" a tertiary care referral pediatric hospital.Medications were classified by TGs according to drug code, purchase cost, PWI, and volumes purchased.TGs showed similar profiles according to cost of purchase, volume and code numbers, not according to PWI. There were only minor differences in cost among the 15 most expensive medications among both institutions.Despite the marked asymmetry between both institutions, drug profiles were not significantly different, to a large extent due to the fact that the Hospital Infantil de Mexico acquires all TGs.