Non-formulary medicines

It is recognised that on occasion clinicians may wish to use a medicine or formulation for a particular service user that is not listed in the formulary. A non formulary drug request form must be completed and sent to the Head of Medicines Management who will prepare an evaluation of the medicine and proposed use. The Chair of the DTC will then consider the application together with the Chief Pharmacist and inform the applicant of the decision.

When a clinician wishes to prescribe a new medicine in a wider group of patients that is not available on the formulary then an application for a new drug request must be completed. The same would apply for existing medicines with new indications. Such requests will be considered by the DTC and in some instances a business case may need to be submitted to the Area Prescribing Committee (APC). Only after full approval will a new drug/product be included in the formulary.