Government formulary list

Abstract

Aims: To provide updated information through maintenance and evaluation of the medicinal products available in the National Health system, to be used as the unique reference source by the healthcare professionals working within the Government sector. Methods: The last updated list of the medicines available on the Government Formulary List (GFL) was used to: 1. Identify products available within the Government sector and those which have not been listed 2. Change the format and categorisation of the medicines according to the disease category adopted in the British National Formulary (BNF). Details included for all the medicines are: Active Ingredient, Dosage form and strength, Disease category, Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification system, prescriber criteria, department use, protocol, unlicensed and pink card positive criteria. 3. Create separate formularies for Hospital use and for the Out patients’ that is for government and the Pharmacy of your own choice (POYC) scheme, pharmacies. 4. Review of Pink card positive drugs into a further classification: acute (A), chronic (C) and both (B). 5. Review protocols and the prescriber criteria 6. Create a printed document besides the electronic format, with the necessary indexing and table of contents Data and information was reviewed and discussed, in close collaboration with the Pharmacy section especially with the Clinical Pharmacists and the clinicians involved in the various specialties, such as the cardiovascular drugs. The protocols were amended after the Medicines Approval Section pharmacists identified any shortcomings and inconsistencies in the system. Before the final publishing, the document was reviewed for correctness and completeness of the information. Results: The electronic and printed publication includes seven hundred and seventy eight (n=778) items. Five hundred and twenty seven (n=527) items in the last edition were updated, ten (n=10) of which were completely deleted from the formulary. During this exhaustive exercise the existing protocols were revised and the necessary amendments were made. Conclusions: The Government Formulary List (GFL) is a useful structured resource based on current guidelines mirroring international practice. The considerable changes indicate the need for constant update and reviewing. The GFL will be published yearly.