Microsoft word - 2007.04.02-nwt_initial_memo_ic_formulary.doc

MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: INTRODUCTION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES INTERCHANGEABILITY
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES, GNWT We are pleased to introduce to you the Northwest Territories Interchangeability Formulary (NWT
IC Formulary) which can be found on-line at http://www.nwticformulary.com .
This NWT IC Formulary reflects changes in the new Pharmacy Act in the Northwest Territories which created an interchangeability formulary for the region based on a set of business rules developed by Cubic Health in consultation with the Department of Health and Social Services of the Government of the Northwest Territories. These business rules build upon the work done by Expert Review committees across the country that make decisions related to product interchangeability. The NWT IC Formulary was created to achieve the following goals: • To allow pharmacists to switch brand name products with more cost-effective generic medications without running the risk of professional liability in the event of an adverse drug reaction. • To enhance productivity in the pharmacy by minimizing the need to call the prescribing physician to obtain permission to dispense a pharmaceutically equivalent product. The formulary is made available exclusively on-line at the link above, and will be updated on a
quarterly basis to reflect changes in the availability of new interchangeable drug products on the
market. Any questions related to the site can be directed to: [email protected] .
The on-line searchable formulary only includes drugs that are considered interchangeable in the NWT. Any drug product that is not listed on the on-line searchable formulary is not considered interchangeable with any other product. For example, Zocor 20mg is listed on the NWT IC Formulary (along with all of its interchangeable generic DINs); however, Lipitor 10mg is not listed on the NWT IC Formulary at this time since it is not interchangeable with any other product. Throughout the process of determining interchangeability for the initial launch of this online resource, one particular group of DINs caused some difficulty in how they were assigned interchangeability status. Lithium carbonate is currently the only drug product where there are two distinct brand name products (LITHANE and CARBOLITH) that are not interchangeable with each other. However, both are interchangeable with the same generic product (APO-LITHIUM CARBONATE) in the reference regions used to develop the NWT IC Formulary. Thus, in order to differentiate between the interchangeability relationships between the generic APO-LITHIUM CARBONATE and each of the two brand name products, the following Product Identification Numbers (PIN) have been developed: • PIN 05550001 for APO-LITHIUM CARBONATE 150MG (DIN 02242837)
• PIN 05550002 for APO-LITHIUM CARBONATE 300MG (DIN 02242838)
When you click on CARBOLITH CAP 150MG on the on-line searchable formulary, it will show DIN 02242837 for APO-LITHIUM CARBONATE CAP 150MG as interchangeable. Similarly, for CARBOLITH CAP 300MG, DIN 02242838 for APO-LITHIUM CARBONATE CAP 300MG is interchangeable. However, when you click on LITHANE, the PINs 05550001 and 05550002 will be listed for APO-LITHIUM CARBONATE 150MG and 300MG respectively. We are bringing this to your attention to ensure there is no confusion surrounding the introduction of these two PINs. NOTE: These PINs are not issued by Health Canada or the GNWT and should not be used for adjudication purposes. An email update will be sent to you every quarter highlighting any changes to the NWT IC
Formulary. We hope you will find the site easy to navigate and very helpful in your daily practice.
If you have any specific questions related to the site or the interchangeability determinations,
please email your questions to [email protected] .

Source: http://www.nwticformulary.ca/HTMLContent/2007_04_01-NWT_Initial_Memo_IC_Formulary.pdf