Drug and Therapeutics Committee

Medicines can save lives and improve quality of life, but they are expensive and widely misused. The DTC is designated to address this issue by developing and implementing policies for managing medicine use, evaluating the clinical use of medicines, and administering and managing the formulary system. The DTC's advisory responsibilities include advising medical, administrative, and pharmacy departments on pharmaceutical management issues, promoting strategies to improve medicine use and medicine safety, and developing policies on selection, procurement, and distribution of medicines. The committee also evaluates medicine use by aggregating and analyzing consumption data, identifying general trends in prescribing, and monitoring adherence to Standard Treatment Guidelines (STG). Additionally, the DTC promotes rational drug use through educational programs and managerial programs. The DTC structure and organization are designed to ensure effective decision-making and implementation. Membership includes representatives from medical, pharmacy, administration, nursing, and patient groups, with regular meetings and documented goals, terms of reference, policies, and decisions. The Chair and Vice Chair serve as a formal link between the DTC and the Hospital Director or Hospital Board. The DTC quorum requires a minimum of five members, including at least two clinicians, one nurse, one pharmacist, and one of either the Chair or Vice Chair. If members cannot attend, a deputy will be acceptable. The DTC guiding principles emphasize a multidisciplinary, transparent approach, unbiased decision-making, technical competence, and an official mandate. To monitor DTC performance, impact and outcome indicators are used, including medicine selection, prescribing quality, drug safety, and financial sustainability. These indicators measure the number of medicines in the hospital formulary, the percentage of prescribed drugs belonging to the hospital formulary, the number of antimicrobials in the formulary, the percentage of patients treated in accordance with STGs, mortality and morbidity rates due to adverse consequences of medicine use, and the cost of DTC activities versus the money saved through improving drug use and decreasing wastage. The DTC's actions will result in improved patient care, better planning of pharmaceutical need, improved medicine procurement and inventory management, and improved management of pharmaceutical expenditure. By evaluating the clinical use of medicines, developing policies for managing medicine use, and managing the formulary system, the DTC plays a critical role in promoting rational drug use and ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines in hospital facilities.