The BNF is a joint publication of
the British Medical Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. It is
published under the authority of a Joint Formulary Committee which comprises
representatives of the two professional bodies, the UK Health Departments, the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and a national guideline
producer. The Dental Advisory Group oversees the preparation of advice on the
drug management of dental and oral conditions; the Group includes
representatives of the British Dental Association and a representative from the
UK Health Departments. The Nurse Prescribers’ Advisory Group advises on the
content relevant to nurses and includes representatives from different parts of
the nursing community and from the UK Health Departments.
The BNF includes key information
on the selection, prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines. Medicines
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.
Information on drugs is drawn
from the manufacturers’ product literature, medical and pharmaceutical
literature, UK health departments, 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 editorial team receives advice on all therapeutic
areas from expert clinicians; this ensures that the BNF’s recommendations are
relevant to practice.
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 anesthesia since it is expected that those
undertaking treatment will have specialist knowledge and access to specialist
literature. Similarly, little or no information is included on medicines for
very rare conditions. BNF for Children should be consulted for detailed
information on the use of medicines in children. The BNF should be interpreted
in the light of professional knowledge and supplemented as necessary by specialized
publications and by reference to the product literature. Information is also
available from medicines information services, see Medicines Information
Services
(see inside front cover).
It is important to use the most
recent BNF information for making clinical decisions. The print edition of the
BNF is updated in March and September each year. Monthly updates are provided
online via Medicines Complete and the NHS Evidence portal. The more important
changes are listed under Changes; changes listed online are cumulative (from
one print edition to the next), and can be printed off each month to show the
main changes since the last print edition as an aide memoire for those using
print copies.
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