Criteria for selection of drugs

                            Criteria for selection of drugs 

The choice of drugs depends on many factors: -

• pattern of prevalent diseases 

• the treatment facilities

 • the training and experience of the available personnel 

• the financial resources 

• generic, demographic and environmental factors.

 • When several drugs are available for the same indication, select the drug, pharmaceutical product and dosage form that provide the highest benefit/risk ratio. 

 • When two or more drugs are therapeutically equivalent, preference should be given to: 

➢ the drug which has been most thoroughly investigated.

 ➢the drug with the most favourable pharmacokinetic properties, e.g. to improve compliance, to minimize risk in various pathophysiological states 

➢drug for which local, reliable manufacturing facilities for pharmaceutical products exist;

 ➢drugs, pharmaceutical products and dosage forms with favourable stability, or for which storage facilities exist.  

• Fixed ratio combinations are only acceptable if the following criteria are met:

 i. clinical documentation justifies the concomitant use of more than one drug; 

ii. the therapeutic effect is greater than the sum of the effect of each; iii. the cost of the combination product is less than the sum of the individual products; 

 • compliance is improved; 

• sufficient drug ratios are provided to allow dosage adjustment satisfactory for the majority of the population