About the formulary

The NHS Scotland Formulary mobile app presents a condition-based formulary that aligns medicine choices to the treatment of the patient. Details of the governance committees and procedures that oversee the development of content for the formulary are available from our website.

What is a formulary?

A formulary is a list of medicines that are available for routine use in a Health Board. It offers a choice of medicines for healthcare professionals to prescribe for most medical conditions.

Clinical experts consider whether to add new medicines to a formulary. When doing this, they may use advice published by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC). When SMC considers a new medicine for the NHS in Scotland, it looks at:

• how well the medicine works
• which patients might benefit from it
• whether it's as good or better than medicines the NHS already uses to treat the medical condition
• whether it's good value for money

Sometimes established medicines are a better choice than new medicines. If clinical experts in a Health Board decide not to make a medicine available for use, other medicines are usually available on the formulary to treat the specific medical condition.

What are the benefits of having a formulary?

A formulary helps to make sure that you receive high quality medicines that are safe and effective. A medicine’s effectiveness is the most important reason for including it in a formulary. All medicines in a formulary have a proven track record in clinical drug trials and have shown their worth in everyday practice.

Doctors becoming more familiar with a narrower range of medicines helps to reduce prescribing errors and improves safety for patients. By using a narrower list of medicines it is easier for community pharmacies to stock supplies of your medicines. Use of a formulary promotes consistent prescribing, and you benefit by getting the same medicines from your GP as you will in local hospitals. This helps make the best use of NHS resources for everyone.

Which formulary does my Health Board use?

The formulary accessed in the 'East Region Formulary' section of this mobile app is used by NHS Borders, NHS Fife and NHS Lothian. It can also be accessed via the East Region Formulary website.

The formulary accessed in the 'West of Scotland Formulary' section of this mobile app is used by NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Dumfries & Galloway, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire. It can also be accessed via the West of Scotland Formulary website.

Details of other Health Board formularies can be accessed via their websites:

• NHS Grampian, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland
• NHS Highland and NHS Western Isles
• NHS Tayside

Can I be prescribed a medicine that’s not on my Health Board’s formulary?

If a medicine is not included on your Health Board’s formulary and there are no suitable alternatives on it, a healthcare professional can request to prescribe another medicine if they think you'll benefit from using it. All Health Boards have procedures in place to consider requests when a healthcare professional feels another medicine would be right for a particular person.

Where can I find more information on medicines and healthcare?

Please visit our website for links to the latest resources.