To enable Hospital Therapeutic Committees to function properly they need to be supported. Hospitals should allow their Committees access to essential resources:
- information resources, such as books and journals,
- secretarial support and stationary,
- capacity to allow for uncomplicated research and (statistical) analysis.
The activities of the institutional committees will be coordinated and supported - where possible - by the Regional Therapeutic Committees, chaired by the Regional Medical Officers and a National Therapeutic Committee. The National Therapeutic Committee will particularly supervise and oversee the various activities of Therapeutic Committees in the light of requirements from the National Drug Policy.
It is extremely important for the Committees to have meetings at regular intervals (at least 4-6 x per year). The absence of regular meetings will almost certainly disenchant hospital staff from the policies, guidelines and decisions, developed and agreed upon. These Committees can only be successful if they act dynamically by discussing, reviewing and updating at regular intervals. Discussions within the hospitals, consensus on decisions and educational approaches to guide implementation are essential elements in the process.
MANUAL. NDP
