About the Formulary
We are developing the Victorian Medicines Formulary (the Formulary), a statewide list of medicines approved for use in Victorian public hospitals and health services.
This statewide approach aims to:
- improve the safety and quality use of medicines
- reduce variation in access and care.
Why this is important
Victoria is the only Australian jurisdiction without a statewide medicines formulary.
In Victoria, different public hospitals and health services use different approved medicines lists. This can lead to variation in medicine access, care and safety.
A statewide formulary can reduce this variation by:
- making approved medicines consistent across Victoria. This means patients can receive the same evidence-based treatment, regardless of which public hospital or health service they attend.
- improving medicine safety, through consistent prescribing and clearer guidance for clinicians
- ensuring medicine decisions use the best available clinical evidence, supported by statewide clinical governance and expert review.
What this means for patients
When the Formulary is established, patients can expect:
- more equitable access to medicines, as close to home as possible
- safer and more consistent use of medicines.
How the Formulary is being developed
Planning and design
Current work is focused on planning and designing the statewide formulary.
In this phase, we will:
- understand the formularies currently used at health services and how they are managed
- set up the clinical governance structure
- design the formulary scope and how listing decisions will be made, with input from:
- medical practitioners
- pharmacists
- nurses
- hospitals/health services
- patients and the community.
- begin work to design a digital system to manage the medicines formulary
- learn from other Australian states and health systems
- plan how any future changes would be introduced gradually.
Key stakeholders will be engaged as the work progresses, and regular updates will be provided on this page.
Future phases
Later phases will focus on:
- building the statewide formulary
- supporting public hospitals and health services with implementation
- reviewing how the formulary is working and iterating to ensure continuous improvement and quality use of medicines is achieved.
Engagement and consultation
Health sector
Input from the Victorian health sector is essential to design and deliver the Formulary.
We will work closely with medical practitioners, pharmacists, nurses and health service leaders. Engagement will be staged over time and focus on collaboration.
Community
Hearing from patients, carers and the community helps us understand real experiences with medicines.
This includes:
- how patients access medicines
- challenges that patients face
- what matters most to patients.
We will involve patients through advisory structures and consultation activities.
More information
Contact us
You can contact medicinesformulary@safercare.vic.gov.au with questions or feedback.
Stay informed
Stay informed about the Formulary initiative by registering your interest below.
Registered stakeholders will receive relevant project updates, and, where appropriate, may also be contacted regarding future engagement activities.
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