The Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary (APF) is the national
formulary used by pharmacists in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, compiled by the
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is a professional organisation of Australian pharmacists. PSA is the peak national body for pharmacists, representing all of the pharmacy profession in Australia, with approximately 18,000 members. ...
. New editions of the APF are released every few years, with the latest edition being the 25th.
History
The APF was originally a pocket-sized booklet first published in 1902, used by physicians as a drugs reference in Australia. In later editions, rather than simply being a listing of pharmaceuticals, medical and clinical information became incorporated within the publication as well, and eventually the title of the APF was extended to the ''Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook''.
[''Preface'', Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook (21st edition), page ix. Pharmaceutical Society of Australia. ]
Content
The APF is divided in a number of sections, with each pertaining to a specific topic. Information includes
* Dispensing practice
* Cautionary Advisory Labels (CALs) information and recommendations
* Good compounding practice
* Compounding sterile and hazardous medicines
* Extemporaneous formulary
*
Cold chain
A cold chain is a low temperature-controlled supply chain network. An unbroken cold chain is an uninterrupted series of refrigerated production, storage and distribution activities, along with associated equipment and logistics, which maintain qu ...
management
* Clinical drug monographs
* Information on complementary medicines
* Counseling guides for common ailments
* National pharmacy standards and guidelines, and
* Physicochemical data of drug constituents.
See also
*
Australian Medicines Handbook
Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) is a peer-reviewed medicines prescribing guide for Australian health professionals. The handbook is available in paper and digital formats and is supplemented by the ''AMH Aged Care Companion'' and the ''AMH C ...
*
British Pharmacopoeia
The ''British Pharmacopoeia'' (''BP'') is the national pharmacopoeia of the United Kingdom. It is an annually published collection of quality standards for medicinal substances in the UK, which is used by individuals and organisations involve ...
*
United States Pharmacopeia
The ''United States Pharmacopeia'' (''USP'') is a pharmacopeia (compendium of drug information) for the United States published annually by the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (usually also called the USP), a nonprofit organization that ...
*''
Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference''
References
{{reflist
External links
Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
Medical manuals
Pharmacology literature