Drug Formulary

The World Health Organisation has been actively promoting the concept of “essential medicine”. It recommends that health authorities around the world establish their own mechanisms for systematic selection of drugs to promote availability, accessibility, affordability, quality and rational use of medicines. In Hong Kong, it is the Government’s public healthcare policy that no one should be denied adequate medical treatment through lack of means. The Hospital Authority (HA) Ordinance also requires HA to ensure provision of hospital services of the highest possible standard within the resources obtainable.

To help achieve this, HA has long been evaluating new drugs and reviewing its existing drug list through the Drug Advisory Committee (DAC) and the former Drug Utilisation Review Committee (DURC) respectively. In line with international developments and to standardise drug utilisation and payment practices among all public hospitals and clinics, HA embarked on the development of its own Drug Formulary in 2003. This development was based on the guiding principle that public resources should be used to maximise the effects of healthcare and provide equitable access for all patients. Other core values, including evidence-based medical practice, rational use of public resources, targeted subsidy, opportunity cost considerations and facilitation of patients’ choice, have also underpinned the development of the HA Drug Formulary.