Irish Medicines Formulary

Irish Medicines Formulary

Irish Medicines Formulary Edition 17, February 2015
Country	Ireland
Language	English
Subject	Medicines
Genre	Medical/Prescribing Reference
Publisher	Meridian Ireland
Publication date	Twice yearly (Feb, Aug)
ISBN	978-0-9571921-5-7

The Irish Medicines Formulary (IMF)^[1] is a medicines reference for healthcare professionals working in Ireland.^[2] It is an index of all prescription medicines that are both licensed and marketed in Ireland, i.e. available to be prescribed for a patient. Published by Meridian Ireland,^[3] IMF is edited, designed, printed and posted in the Republic of Ireland.

IMF is Irish-specific – the prescribing information provided for each drug is sourced solely from the product license or Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) specific for Ireland^[4] as published on the website of the Health Regulatory Authority (HPRA)^[5] or European Medicines Agency (EMA).^[6] IMF does not provide prescribing information for medicines not licensed for use in Ireland.

First published in 2007, IMF Edition 17 (February 2015) has been published.

Features

IMF provides the information of approximately 8000 prescription drugs available to prescribe in Ireland. Given this large number of choices, it is necessary for prescribers, from time to time, to check certain information such as dosage, especially where there is specific dosing for elderly patients and children. Possible drug interactions also need to be checked as well as, for example, whether or not a particular drug is suitable for use in certain special populations (e.g. a patient with renal or hepatic impairment or in pregnancy). Special precautions to be taken into account before or while using the drug as well as expected adverse events are also included.

In addition to actual prescribing information, the doctor, nurse prescriber or pharmacist may also need to check administrative information pertinent only to Ireland, for example, the Euro price or whether the medicine is reimbursed under the various Irish reimbursement schemes e.g. PCRS (Primary Care Reimbursement Scheme, formerly GMS Scheme) or High Tech Scheme (HT).^[7]

Also included is top-line information on the use of drugs in Sport as sourced from the World Anti-Doping Agency^[8] and information on driving as sourced from the Summary of Product Characteristics for each drug and supplemented with information from the DRUID (Driving Under the Influence of Drugs, Alcohol and Medicines) Project.^[9] The ATC Code for each molecule is also included for accurate referencing of medicines prescribed when legally required. ^[10]

Each edition also includes pharmacovigilance information supplied by the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).^[11] IMF Edition 15 included information with regard to 'Medicines Subject to Additional Monitoring Requirements' according to new EU legislation. Each drug in IMF which is subject to this additional monitoring is denoted by an inverted black triangle.^[12] Edition 16 carried two articles from the HPRA, namely, 'Recommendation to Restrict the Combined Use of Medicines Affecting the Renin-angiotensin (RAS) System' as well as information regarding the 'Irish Medicines Board Name Change'. Edition 17 addresses, 'Domperidone-containing Medicines: Risk of Cardiac Adverse Reactions - Restricted Indication, New Contraindications and Reduced Dose and Duration of Use'.

In addition to providing relevant prescribing information for medicines, IMF also includes information regarding herbal drug interactions, cardiovascular risk charts, and copies of official Health Products Regulatory Authority Adverse Reaction Report Form (yellow card) and Quality Defect Report form (green card).^[13] It also provides contact details for all of the pharmaceutical companies that market prescription medicines in Ireland should an Irish doctor wish to contact the company for more information.

IMF also includes information on Prescription Writing from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). This material includes the rules and regulations pertaining to prescription writing according to Irish legislation,^[14] as well as the legal requirements for writing prescriptions for Controlled Drugs.^[15]

Users

IMF is used by Irish General Practitioners (GPs), Hospital Doctors, Nurse Prescribers and Pharmacists in both community and hospital practice. Particularly useful to pharmacists is that under each molecule (INN), IMF lists the generic brands marketed in Ireland. With the current switch to generic substitution, doctors and pharmacists can use IMF to show patients that the generic equivalent they have received is the same as the original brand. The website of the HPRA lists the interchangeable medicines that are licensed^[16] in Ireland but not all of them are necessarily marketed; IMF lists only those that are both licensed and marketed i.e. available to prescribe.

In addition IMF is used by students of medical and pharmacy colleges throughout Ireland. The Department of Family Medicine and General Practice, Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (RCSI), uses IMF as the prescribing reference of choice for their students in Senior Cycle 1 (4th year). In the first weeks of this cycle, the students are introduced to IMF by way of a formal lecture forming part of "Prescribing in primary care and an introduction to the Irish Medicines Formulary".^[17]

The Medical Protection Society (Ireland)^[18] produces a number of booklets addressing safety issues, including safe prescribing. Their booklets "Avoiding Problems – Managing the Risks in Hospital Practice"^[19] and "Avoiding Problems – Managing the Risks in General Practice in Ireland"^[20] advise "adopting accepted practice", for example, "prescribing in accordance with the Irish Medicines Formulary".

IMF is also used by nursing professionals (especially nurse prescribers and public health nurses), state health and regulatory agencies and with professionals working in the pharmaceutical industry. It is a comprehensive reference of medicines licensed and marketed in the country. IMF is published twice yearly, in February and August.

References