MTW NHS Trust West Kent CCG

Drug Status Key

  • Preferred
  • Second Line
  • Third Line
  • Specialist Initiation
  • Hospital Only
  • Not Approved for Formulary

Using the Formulary

Formulary searching guide


A few tips if you are new to the site........

Information is located in two parts of the formulary:

1. Therapeutic sections
These include which drugs are recommended for use. These are classified green (first line), yellow (second line), amber (specialist use) and red (hospital only). Information on drug choice and  links to other websites are included, e.g. NICE, BNF etc. and also the MTW Q-pulse documents. These sections are arranged as per BNF classification.

2. Prescribing guidelines

Includes local prescribing guidance and antimicrobial prescribing policies

How to find a drug

  1. Type the name of the drug into the search box on the top right of the screen. This will give the chapter(s) in which the drug is listed. OR
  2. Click on the therapeutic sections button on the left hand side of the home page to reveal BNF chapter headings. Then click on the relevant chapter which will displayed the drug groups in that chapter then click on the relevant drug group.

Using icons

There are links to the BNF and Summary of Product Characteristics which provide dosing information and NICE technology appraisal guidance where applicable.

BNF This links to the relevant BNF page, where dosing information can be found
EMCThis links to the relevant Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC)

 NICE This links to the relevant guideline NICE technology appraisal

  this links to the relevant internet page

 this links to a relevant word document

 this links to a relevant PDF document

Documents this links to some Trust guideline documents

Other icons

MHRA Warning Safety warning, High Cost Drug high cost drug,  Cytotoxic Drug cytotoxic drug,

Shared Care shared care guidelines, Unlicenced Use unlicensed use, Unlicenced Drug unlicensed drug

 Drug Costing £100 - £499,Drug Costing £500 - £999 Drug Costing > £1000 indicate levels of cost, Controlled Drug 2 and similar icons indicate a controlled drug schedule.

Please note: Current listed prices for medicines are only a guide – the software is due to incorporate updated prices shortly

Colour codes

On the left-hand side of each page a colour key will be displayed explaining the prescribing status of every item on the formulary.

Guidelines

Links to guideline documents or relevant internet pages are displayed in each chapter

Other clinical information

Other clinical information can be found in the prescribing guideline section of the formulary. This section has been divided up according to BNF therapeutic sections.

It is best to put your search term into the search box on the right-hand side of the page. Remember, you may need to scroll down a bit to find the relevant heading in the results and click on the relevant chapter.

Antibiotic prescribing

Antibiotic prescribing information is found in the antimicrobial guidelines which are in the prescribing guideline section of the formulary.

This opens up to give headings on general antibiotic prescribing and then information is divided up according to type of infection. Prophylaxis guidance according to type of surgery is also available.

Alternatively, enter your search term in the search box as described above.