EURO GP FORMULARY NEXT YEAR?

An informal group of experts from European Community countries is planning to publish the first EC-wide drug formulary for general practitioners next year with, it hopes, support from the EC Commission and the World Health Organization.

Drug use throughout the EC differs widely, according to the group, which adds that many countries appear not to have GP formularies.

The purpose of the formulary will be to provide "simple, adequate and appropriate" treatments for conditions which present most commonly in general practice. It would include approximately 150 drugs, and its authors intend to exclude products which have been introduced within the past five years, unless they show clear major advantages over established treatments. The authors also plan to address through the formulary the issue of whether certain drugs are needed at all.