DRUG TALKS
Today, Barbadians should have greater clarity as it relates to the new Barbados National Drug Formulary.
That’s according to Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Health, Dr. Kenneth George. He made the disclosure to the media yesterday morning as he revealed that the Ministry of Health, together with the Barbados Drug Service, will be meeting today with various stakeholders including representatives of the pharmacists and doctors, to discuss the changes that have been made to the Formulary. Following that meeting, the CMO said a “formal statement” will be released to the public.
Dr. George’s comments came as he explained the workings of the Formulary and how it is prepared. He indicated that the document, which is published every two years, is revised biennially to ensure that they keep up to date with the science of how non-communicable diseases such as hypertension are treated.
“The changes to the Formulary come about by having a Drug Formulary Committee which meets and makes decisions on what new drugs go on to the Formulary and what drugs come off the Formulary.
“The press has been running with the issues of the drugs that have come off the Formulary, please note that there were drugs that were put on the Formulary too, but nobody speaks about that,” he stated.
Contending that the Formulary must be seen as a “dynamic document”, Dr. George added that given the fast pace at which medicine moves, no one version of the Formulary can be in place for an extended period of time. With that in mind, he said that to aid in revising the document they usually engage in a consultative process, and this year took it a step farther, bringing in experts in the areas of eight disciplines – hypertension, diabetes, antimicrobials, pain medicine, among others, to shed light on specific areas. The CMO indicated that it was with the assistance of those experts, that it was decided what drugs should be included in the new Formulary.
“If it is believed that the only function of the Formulary is to move brand name drugs off and put generic drugs on, that’s incorrect. The process was facilitated through persons who are in the field; so not Kenneth George because I can’t tell you about pain management; there were people in the field who were able to give their input into where the Formulary is at,” he revealed.
The health official’s remarks came as he gave the assurance that a “definite statement” on the rollover of the Formulary, and when the changes, which were to be operational on April 1 would take effect, is to come.