# E-DRUG: PTC Committees (2) **URL:** \ **Category:** e-drug\ **Created:** [May 11, 1998, 7:06pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-ptc-committees-2/2596 "1998-05-11T19:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![richardl1951](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@richardl1951](https://talk.edrugplus.org/u/richardl1951)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 1998, 7:06pm UTC](https://talk.edrugplus.org/t/e-drug-ptc-committees-2/2596/1 "1998-05-11T19:06:01Z")
E-drug: PTC Committees ------------------------------------ I have been working in Zimbabwe recently assisting the sub committee established by the National Drugs and Therapeutics Committee policy Advisory Committee on establishing PTC committees. The NDTPAC have established a sub committee to work on this topic. They have reviewed Terms of reference from Namibia, Malawi, Kenya (in MDS2) and from four hospitals in Australia. These are the terms of reference they agreed to field test for the next six months in nine hospitals: DRAFT PROPOSAL FOR HDTC The Zimbabwe National Drug Policy is to 'encourage health workers to participate in collaborative management of drugs in their institutions in order to promote rational drug use'. The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare recognises the need for hospital drug and therapeutics committees (HDTCs) to achieve this. In order to succeed in achieving compliance to guidelines the committees must employ the principle of 'ownership' i.e. encouraging participation, communication and consultation with the major stakeholders i.e. prescribers, consumers, hospital administrators and the tax payers. Integration of the training, educational, managerial and regulatory activities occurring at all levels would aid in achieving the aims and objectives of improving drug use in Zimbabwean hospitals. Each hospital may choose to have different members and may have different terms of reference. This is perfectly acceptable and is to be expected. Draft Terms of reference 1 Name 2 Aim(s) of the Committee   To encourage health workers to participate in collaborative management of drugs in their institutions in order to promote the rational and cost effective use of drugs. 3 Membership   Important features of the Committee include promotion of direct communication with senior management, multidisciplinarity, community and consumer representation. Therefore it is likely to consist of members with the following possible representation:   �Medical staff (including representatives from each department or division)   �Pharmacy   �Nursing   �Hospital Administration including medical records and accounts   �Clinical Pharmacology   �Laboratory   �General Practitioners (where relevant)   �Private Specialists (where relevant)   �Junior Doctors (where relevant)   �City Health Department or district health team member   �Consumer/ community representative   The committee may occasionally invite a specialist to make a presentation or give advice on a specific issue. In addition, the committee may wish to call on members of the HDTC subcommittee of the National Drug and Therapeutics Policy Advisory Committee (NDTPAC) to assist them. 4 Chairperson   The Chairperson shall be determined by the hospital executive committee. Usually the chairperson would be the Medical Superintendent or another senior doctor who would be able to influence senior prescribers. 5 Secretary   The secretary shall be the chief pharmacist of the hospital 6 Operation of the Committee   The Committee shall meet monthly. In the absence of the Chairperson, the meeting will be chaired by another member elected for the purpose on that day. In the absence of the Secretary, the secretary's function shall be undertaken by another member elected for the purpose on the day. The Committee shall report through the Hospital Superintendent to the Hospital Executive. Minutes of the meetings should be circulated to committee members and copied to the HDTC subcommittee of the NDTPAC. 7 Objectives 7.1 Main Objective   To set up programs for maximising rational and cost effective drug use by all prescribers in the hospitals. 7.2 Specific Objectives   The committee will be responsible for defining their specific objectives on an annual basis. These may include: (a) To formulate policies and guidelines pertaining to the use of drugs within the hospital. -- Send mail for the `E-Drug' conference to `e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'. Mail administrative requests to `majordomo@usa.healthnet.org'. For additional assistance, send mail to: `owner-e-drug@usa.healthnet.org'.