BNF receives NICE accreditation

The British National Formulary (BNF), produced by Pharmaceutical Press – the publishing arm of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) – has now officially been accredited by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), England’s health technology assessment body.

The accreditation comes following two years of restructuring content across the BNF publications and an extensive review of the content creation processes used to produce the BNF to ensure that they meet the criteria required to achieve NICE accreditation.

“During this rigorous process, we have taken the opportunity to review how we receive, process and present information. As a result of these efforts, our editorial processes have been recognised to be robust and NICE accreditation has been achieved,” explains Karen Baxter, director of the BNF.

“Our content creation processes ensure we continue to add value to BNF content by a thorough evaluation of the evidence base and ensure optimal use of our advisors and committees. For the first time, we also welcome public comments and contributions to draft BNF content via our consultations process.

“Overall, this was a large piece of work, but one which was very worthwhile, resulting in the delivery of tangible benefits to our end-users,” adds Baxter.

The BNF is a reference book used by healthcare professionals for prescribing and administering medicines.

The NICE accreditation will last for five years, after which time, processes will be reassessed.