Formulary Users Hits 1 Million Mark

  • Peter Dunne
Health

Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne has congratulated the team at the New Zealand Formulary as the number of users of this excellent resource has surpassed  the 1 million mark.

The New Zealand Formulary has been developed as part of the government's medicines strategy, Medicines New Zealand, aimed at achieving best use of medicines for optimal health outcomes. The Formulary provides an up-to-date, comprehensive and New Zealand-specific medicines information resource for New Zealanders, health professionals in particular.

The New Zealand Formulary was launched in July 2012, with the New Zealand Formulary for Children launched in November 2013. As at 31 July 2014 the New Zealand Formulary has had well over 900,000 visitors and the Formulary for Children 90,000 visitors  respectively. Latest figures indicate the total visitor numbers are well over the 1 million mark.

“In 2008 I secured $2.2 million in Budget funding for ‘Investing in the Medicines Sector’ as part of implementing the medicines strategy,” Mr Dunne said.

"The two Formulary websites provide an excellent accurate and up to date source of medicine information and are valuable tools for New Zealand's healthcare profession. The medicines strategy and action plan were undertaken to improve health outcomes for New Zealanders and, with the development of the two Formulary publications, they are achieving just that. It is particularly pleasing to see the strong uptake of the children-specific Formulary, as giving children the best start to life extends to ensuring they get the best and most appropriate healthcare.

"The New Zealand Formulary team continues to refine and enhance the Formulary to ensure it provides the best possible resource for those using it, and I congratulate them on their dedication and professionalism as we pass the 1 million visitor milestone,” said Mr Dunne.

The New Zealand Formulary and Formulary for Children can be found at the following addresses: www.nzf.org.nz and www.nzfchildren.org.nz