The objective of this chapter is to provide information on the various steps which should be taken when applying indicators, as part of an indicator exercise (assessment of the pharmaceutical situation at a moment in time) or within a continuous monitoring system.

When assessing or monitoring a national drug policy (NDP), identifying appropriate indicators and data sources, determining how to collect the data, organizing the collection and analysing the results should be carefully planned. The choice of the indicators and the quality of the information collected will affect the validity of the results and the appropriateness of the changes proposed. The main steps for ensuring that the results of the monitoring are accurate and reliable are reviewed below.