Primary health care formulary

staff in developing the pharmaceutical component of health projects, this formulary, correlated with the World Health Organization (WHO) Model List of Essential Drugs and with the List of Basic Drug Requirements in the WHO Emergency Health Kit, contains detailed information on 59 commonly-used drugs. This information includes: generic and brand name(s); therapeutic category; use(s); dosage form(s), strength(s), and administration; adverse reactions; warnings and cautions on the use of the drug, especially in children and pregnant or lactating women; proper storage conditions; and shelf-life. Drugs are listed alphabetically and indexed both alphabetically and by therapeutic category. Suggestions as to which drugs are appropriate for health center, rural clinic, and village dispensary use are included, and formulary drugs which cross the placental barrier and/or are excreted in breast milk are noted separately. An introduction discusses the value and compilation of the drug formulary and its use as a training document; the importance of expiry dating and the responsibilities of the stock manager in maintaining stock quality are stressed. Appended are a list of 35 references (1957-84), an illustrative pharmaceutical price list, and several related WHO documents.