The Barbados National Drug Formulary (BNDF) comprises of a list of safe and effective medicines which are used in the treatment of infections and chronic diseases that affect the majority of the population. The selection and continuous review of these medicines are done by the Drug Formulary Committee (DFC), a committee established under the Drug Service Act for the purpose of advising the Minister of Health on the selection of medicines. The DFC uses the following World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria in the selection process.

1.      Drugs included must meet the needs of the majority of the population.

2.      Scientific data regarding the effectiveness of the particular drug for the desired indication must be available. There must be some scientific basis to drug use.

3.      The risk:benefit ratio of the drug should be indisputable.

4.      All drug products must be of an acceptable quality.

5.      Single pharmacological preparations rather than combination products are preferred.

6.      Exceptions to item 5 may arise in cases where patient compliance and/or therapeutic outcome are otherwise jeopardized.

7.      The Formulary would be listed in International Non- Proprietary Name (INN) or generic names only.

8.      Where drugs are therapeutically equivalent, the selection process would be based on cost, scientific research, pharmacokinetic profile, patient compliance, and reliability of the local supplier.