How to Develop a National Formulary Based on the WHO Model Formulary - A Practical Guide: 1 INTRODUCTION: What is a formulary?

How to Develop a National Formulary Based on the WHO Model Formulary - A Practical Guide
(2004; 45 pages)

Índice de contenido

Abbreviations
1 INTRODUCTION
	Objectives
	The need for formularies
	What is a formulary?
	The essential medicines concept
	The WHO model list of essential medicines and the WHO model formulary
2 OVERVIEW OF THE NATIONAL FORMULARY PROCESS
	Organization of the national formulary committee
		The editorial team
		The advisory group
	Agreement on purpose, content, structure and format
	Financing
	Selection of medicines to be included in the national formulary
	Development of the draft
	Reviewing and finalizing content
	Production, dissemination and implementation
	Evaluation and review
3 DEVELOPING THE PRELIMINARY INFORMATION SECTION
	Developing locally relevant introductory information
	General entries at the front of a national formulary
		Acknowledgements
		Introduction or preface
		Table of contents
		Abbreviations
		Units of measurement
	Additional information at the front of the national formulary
		Instructions on how to use the formulary
		Glossary
		Policies and procedures of the national formulary and national formulary committee
		National policies and regulations
		List of changes
	Adapting the “General advice to prescribers” section of the WHO model formulary
4 DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC INFORMATION AND MONOGRAPHS USING THE WHO MODEL FORMULARY
	Adapting the therapeutic classification system of the WHO model formulary
	Options for adapting information from the WHO model formulary in the national formulary
	Addition of locally important, specific information to the WHO model formulary text
		Introductory text of therapeutic sections
		Monographs
		Brand name(s)
		Price
	Writing new material for the national formulary
	Language, style and presentation
	Technical copy-editing
5 ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION
	The evidence-based approach in formulary development
	Information retrieval
	Types of source
		Primary information sources
		Secondary information sources
		Tertiary information sources
		Manufacturer’s literature
	Searching for the best evidence
		Using tertiary sources
		Using secondary sources: evidence-based reviews and guidelines
		Searching the primary literature
	Accessibility
		Printed sources
		Electronic sources
	Critical appraisal
6 DEVELOPING SPECIFIC INFORMATION SECTIONS
	Creating locally important appendices
	Adopting appendices from the WHO model formulary
		Additions
		Deletions
	Working with a master document in Microsoft Word® to create a table of contents and index
		Creating the table of contents
		Creating the index
7 PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION AND IMPLEMENTATION
	Production of the paper-based formulary
	Final editing and layout of manuscript
	Utilizing the electronic version of the WHO model formulary
		Editing of final text
		Printing
		Distribution
	Electronic publishing and distribution of the national formulary
	Implementation to gain acceptance and credibility for the national formulary
8 EVALUATION
	Evaluation of the NF within the framework of existing monitoring and evaluation activities
	How to design the evaluation
	What to evaluate
		Policy, legal framework and management support
		Selection
		Procurement
		Distribution of formulary
		Rational use
9 REVIEW AND UPDATE
	Planning for review
	How frequently does the national formulary need to be reviewed?
	Review process
		Identification of areas in need of change
		Drafting of updated texts for areas where change is necessary
		Updating texts based on the WHO model formulary
		Updating texts containing locally added information
		Approval by the national formulary committee and expert advisers
REFERENCES

What is a formulary?

A formulary is a manual containing clinically oriented summaries of pharmacological information about selected drugs. The manual may also include administrative and regulatory information pertaining to the prescribing and dispensing of drugs (1).

A national formulary generally concentrates on available and affordable medicines that are relevant to the treatment of diseases in a particular country. Formularies are also frequently created for different levels of health care, different sectors and for individual hospitals.