A national database for essential drugs in South Africa

In the process of drafting standard treatment guidelines for adults and chi ldren at hospital level, the Secretariat of the National Essential Drugs Li st Committee made use of a database designed with technical support from th e School of Pharmacy, MEDUNSA. The database links the current 697 drugs on the Essential Drugs List with Standard Treatment Guidelines for over 400 co nditions. It served to streamline the inclusion of different drugs and dosa ge forms in the various guidelines, and provided concise, updated informati on to other departments involved in drug procurement. From information on d rug prices and morbidity, it can also be used to calculate drug consumption and cost estimates and compare them with actual figures.