British National Formulary (BNF)

The BNF is an independent professional publication that is kept up-to-date and which addresses the day-to-day prescribing information needs of healthcare professionals. Use of this resource throughout the health service helps to ensure that medicines are used safely, effectively and appropriately.

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The British National Formulary (BNF), provides UK healthcare professionals with authoritative and practical information on the selection and clinical use of medicines.

About the BNF

The BNF is a joint publication of the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. It is published under the authority of a Joint Formulary Committee which comprises representatives of the two professional bodies and of the UK Health Departments. The Dental Formulary Subcommittee oversees the preparation of advice relating to the drug management of dental and oral conditions; the Subcommittee includes representatives of the British Dental Association.

The BNF aims to provide prescribers, pharmacists and other healthcare professionals with sound up-to-date information about the use of medicines.

The BNF provides ready access to key information on the selection, prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines. Medicines that are generally prescribed in the UK are covered and those considered less suitable for prescribing are clearly identified. Little or no information is included on medicines promoted for purchase by the public.

Basic information about drugs is drawn from the manufacturers' product literature, medical and pharmaceutical literature, regulatory and professional authorities, and data used for pricing prescriptions. Advice on the choice and use of medicines is constructed from clinical literature and reflects, as far as possible, an evaluation of the evidence from diverse sources. The advice also takes account of authoritative national guidelines. In addition, the Joint Formulary Committee receives expert clinical advice on all therapeutic areas in tune with current best evidence; this ensures that the BNF's recommendations are relevant to practice. Many individuals and organisations contribute towards the preparation of each edition of the BNF.

The BNF is designed as a digest for rapid reference and it may not always include all the information necessary for prescribing and dispensing. Also, less detail is given on areas such as obstetrics, malignant disease, and anaesthesia since it is expected that those undertaking treatment will have specialist knowledge and access to specialist literature. The BNF should be interpreted in light of professional knowledge and supplemented as necessary by specialised publications and by reference to the product literature. Information is also available from medicines information services.

Biannual publication allows the BNF to reflect promptly changes in product availability as well as emerging safety concerns and shifts in clinical practice. The more important changes for this edition are listed under Significant changes. The current edition must always be used for making clinical decisions.

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How the BNF is put together

The British National Formulary is a joint publication of the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. It is under continuous revision and a new edition is produced in March and September each year for distribution primarily to doctors and pharmacists working for the National Health Service and to all NHS hospitals.

The BNF has its roots in the health insurance formularies of the 1930s. Following the outbreak of the Second World War these were united into a National War Formulary, which provided formulas incorporating substitutes for scarce, imported ingredients.

The first BNF proper was produced in 1949 following the inception of the NHS. Coverage in the early BNFs was highly selective and by the time the last of these had been produced (for the period 1976-78) a need had been detected for a more comprehensive formulary incorporating a much wider range of preparations while still providing informed advice on their relative merits. A new style of BNF was therefore designed to respond to these needs. Whereas the old BNF had been selective and was revised every two-and-a-half years, this new BNF would be comprehensive with a new edition every six months. The first of the current style of BNFs was published in 1981.

Today, the BNF is an up-to-date pocket book, for rapid reference by practising healthcare professionals, which encourages sensible, cost-effective and safe use of medicines. It is also an educational tool for medical and pharmacy students. A Dental Practitioners' Formulary and a Nurse Prescribers' Formulary are available to cater for the special requirements of these prescribers

Joint Formulary Committee

The Joint Formulary Committee is responsible for the content of the BNF. Doctors and pharmacists on the Committee (nominated by the British Medical Association, the Department of Health and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain) decide on matters of policy and review amendments to the BNF in the light of new evidence and expert advice. The Committee meets quarterly and each member also receives proofs of all BNF chapters before publication, for review.

www.bnf.org/bnf/

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