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Formulary
The British National Formulary (BNF) contains a wide spectrum of information
on prescribing and pharmacology, among others indications, side effects and
costs of the prescription of all medications available on the National Health
Service. It is used by doctors and other prescribers (such as nurses and
pharmacists) to help them select appropriate treatments for their patients; and
is used as a general reference book on the wards by nurses who administer
medications.
The BNF is jointly published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great
Britain and the British Medical Association. It is published biannually under
the authority of a Joint Formulary Committee which comprises representatives of
the two professional bodies and the Department of Health (United Kingdom).
Information on drugs is drawn from the manufacturers' product literature,
medical and pharmaceutical literature, regulatory authorities and professional
bodies. Advice is constructed from clinical literature and reflects, as far as
possible, an evaluation of the evidence from diverse sources. The BNF also takes
account of authoritative national guidelines and emerging safety concerns. In
addition, the Joint Formulary Committee takes advice on all therapeutic areas
from expert clinicians; this ensures that the BNF's recommendations are relevant
to practice. Many individuals and organisations contribute towards the
preparation of the BNF.
There are several sister publications - The British National Formulary for
Children (BNF-C), is produced, and details drugs and their doses/uses in
children; as well as two editions specially for nurses - The Nurse Prescriber's
Formulary and the Extended Nurse Prescriber's Formulary, although with the
recent changes to allow Extended Nurse Prescribers to prescribe from the full
BNF, the fate of the latter publication is in some doubt.
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