Research papers and reviews relating to drug therapy are carefully processed. Where a difference between the advice in the BNF and the paper is noted, the new information is assessed for reliability and relevance to UK clinical practice. If necessary, new text is drafted and discussed with expert advisers and the Joint Formulary Committee. The BNF works closely with the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin and has informal links with the MeReC Bulletin. These are used for answering specific queries, for reviewing existing text and for constructing new text.
Staff editors receive training in critical appraisal, literature evaluation and search skills.
The BNF's advice is checked against consensus guidelines produced by expert bodies. Reference books Textbooks and reference sources are used to provide background information for the review of existing text or for the construction of new text. The BNF team works very closely with the Martindale editorial team. BNF has access to Martindale information resources and each team keeps the other informed of significant developments and shifts in the trends of drug use. The BNF routinely processes relevant information from various Government bodies including Statutory Instruments and regulations affecting the Prescription only Medicines Order.