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How to use the BNF
In order to achieve the safe,
effective,
and appropriate
use of medicines, healthcare professionals must be able
to use the BNF effectively,
and keep up to date with
significant changes in each new edition of the BNF that
are relevant to their clinical
practice.
How to Use the
BNF
is aimed as a quick refresher
for all
healthcare
professionals
involved with prescribing,
monitoring,
supplying, and administering medicines, and as a learn-
ing aid for students training to join these professions.
While
How to Use the BNF
is
linked to the main
elements of
rational
prescribing,
the generic structure
of this section means that it can be adapted for teaching
and learning in different clinical settings.
Structure of the BNF
The Contents list (on p.
iii) shows that information in the
BNF is divided into:
.
How the BNF is Constructed
(p.
viii);
.
Changes for this Edition
(p.
xvi);
.
Guidance
on Prescribing
(p.
1),
which provides
practical
information on many aspects
of
pre-
scribing from writing a prescription to prescribing
in palliative care;
.
Emergency Treatment
of
Poisoning
(p.
32),
which
provides an overview on the management of acute
poisoning;
.
Classified notes on clinical
conditions,
drugs,
and
preparations
, these notes are divided into 15 chap-
ters, each of which is related to a particular system
of the body (e.g. chapter 2, Cardiovascular System)
or
to an aspect
of
medical
care (e.g.
chapter
5,
Infections).
Each chapter
is
further
divided into
classified sections.
Each section usually begins
with
prescribing notes
followed by relevant
drug
monographs
and
preparations
(see fig.
1).
Drugs
are classified in a section according to their phar-
macology and therapeutic use;
.
Appendices
and Indices
,
includes
5 Appendices
(providing information on drug interactions,
intra-
venous
additives,
Borderline
substances,
wound
management,
and cautionary and advisory labels
for dispensed medicines),
the Dental
Practitioners’
Formulary,
the Nurse Prescribers’
Formulary,
Non-
medical
Prescribing,
Index of
Manufacturers,
and
the main Index. The information in the Appendices
should be used in conjunction with relevant infor-
mation in the chapters.
Finding information in the BNF
The BNF includes a number
of
aids to help access
relevant information:
.
Index
(p. 990), where entries are included in alpha-
betical
order of
non-proprietary drug names,
pro-
prietary drug names,
clinical
conditions,
and pre-
scribing
topics.
A
specific
entry
for
‘Dental
Prescribing’
brings together topics of
relevance to
dental
surgeons.
The page reference to the drug
monograph is shown in bold type.
References to
drugs in Appendices 1 and 9 are not included in the
main Index;
.
Contents
(p.
iii),
provides a hierarchy of how infor-
mation in the BNF is organised;
.
The beginning of each chapter includes
a classified
hierarchy
of
how information is organised in that
chapter;
.
Running heads
, located next to the page number on
the top of each page,
show the section of the BNF
that is being used;
.
Thumbnails
,
on the outer edge of each page, show
the chapter of the BNF that is being used;
.
Cross-references
,
lead to additional
relevant
infor-
mation in other parts of the BNF.
Finding dental information in the BNF
Extra signposts have been added to help access dental
information in the BNF:
.
Prescribing in Dental
Practice
(p.
26),
includes a
contents list dedicated to drugs and topics of rele-
vance to dentists, together with cross-references to
the prescribing notes in the appropriate sections of
the BNF.
For example,
a review of
this list shows
that
information on the local
treatment
of
oral
infections is located in chapter 12 (Ear,
Nose,
and
Oropharynx)
while information on the systemic
treatment of these infections is found in chapter 5
(Infections).
This section also includes advice on
Medical Emergencies in Dental Practice (p.
26) and
Medical
Problems in Dental
Practice (p.
28).
Gui-
dance on the prevention of endocarditis and advice
on the
management
of
anticoagulated patients
undergoing dental surgery can also be found here;
.
Side-headings
,
in the prescribing notes,
side-head-
ings facilitate the identification of
advice on oral
conditions (e.g.
Dental and Orofacial Pain,
p.
257);
.
Dental prescribing on NHS
, in the body of the BNF,
preparations that can be prescribed using NHS form
FP10D (GP14 in Scotland, WP10D in Wales) can be
identified by means of
a note headed ‘Dental
pre-
scribing on NHS’
(e.g.
Aciclovir Tablets,
p.
393).
Identifying effective drug treatments
The prescribing notes in the BNF provide an overview
of
the drug management
of
common conditions and
facilitate
rapid appraisal
of
treatment
options
(e.g.
hypertension,
p.
104).
For ease of
use,
information on
the management of
certain conditions has been tabu-
lated (e.g.
acute asthma,
p.
173).
Information is also
provided on the prevention of
disease (e.g.
malaria
prophylaxis for
travellers,
p.
404).
Cardiovascular
risk
prediction charts for the primary prevention of cardio-
vascular disease can be found in the glossy pages at the
back of the BNF.
Advice issued by the National
Institute for Health and
Clinical Excellence (NICE) is integrated within the BNF
prescribing notes if
appropriate.
Summaries of
NICE
technology appraisals,
and relevant
short
guidelines,
are included in blue panels.
The BNF also includes
advice issued by the Scottish Medicines Consortium
(SMC)
when a medicine is restricted or
not
recom-
mended for use within NHS Scotland.
In order
to select
safe and effective medicines
for
individual
patients,
information
in
the
prescribing
notes
must
be used in conjunction with other
pre-
x
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