Together with the index at the back, the table of contents is often the most frequently consulted section in a formulary, so care must be taken to design the structure and layout to achieve the greatest clarity and ease of use. The table of contents at the front of the NF can be very brief, giving only the titles and page numbers of the main sections, whereas detailed tables of contents are presented at the beginning of subsections; as in the WMF. Alternatively the table of contents at the front can be more detailed listing the main headings and subheadings for all subsections as in the Malawi National Formulary (see Box 3.1).

Box. 3.1. Example of a detailed table of contents, Malawi National Formulary, 1991