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The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has today launched a free British National Formulary (BNF) Smartphone application for download by health and social care professionals who work for or who are contracted by the National Health Service (NHS) England.
The new app is called NICE BNF and has been developed to provide easy access to the latest up-to-date prescribing information from the BNF – the most widely-used medicines information resource within the NHS.
The NICE BNF app is available to download for free to health and care professionals via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Users will need to enter their NHS Athens user name and password to activate the app and download the content.
Once downloaded and activated, the app does not rely on a network connection and will provide direct offline access to the latest version of the BNF. An app for the British National Formulary for Children (BNFC) is in the late stages of development and will be released soon.
Eligible professionals who do not yet have an NHS Athens password can register for free online at https://www.evidence.nhs.uk/nhs-evidence-content/journals-and-databases/about-nhs-athens or directly from their Smartphone by following the instruction displayed in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
Announcing the launch of the NICE BNF app, Sir Andrew Dillon, NICE Chief Executive, said:
“Ensuring staff have access to the latest high quality information to deliver the best possible patient care has always been very important to NICE.
“The growing use of Smartphones has created a new culture and means for people to access information while on the move. The NICE Guidance app we launched earlier in the year has been phenomenally successful and we believe that health and care professionals will love our BNF app too.
“It looks great and is easy to use. And because you don’t need internet access once the app is downloaded, professionals can be reassured they can get access to the BNF wherever they may be delivering care”.
Dr Keith Ridge, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at the Department of Health, said:
“I am delighted NICE has taken this step to provide prescribers with a free and modern way to access this essential resource. The new NICE BNF app gives those who have prescribing and medicines responsibilities fast, reliable and convenient access to the most up-to-date prescribing information – ensuring medicines continue to be administered and used safely and accurately.”
Duncan Enright, Publishing Director of the BNF, said:
“We have been working with NICE for three years now and it is good to see this bear fruit in the form of this latest BNF app. We know from previous BNF apps that there is an appetite for BNF on mobile devices.
“The NICE BNF app is a good way to keep up with the most up-to-date prescribing guidance.”
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
