What is a formulary?

A formulary is a listing of prescription medications that are preferred for use by a plan and are dispensed through participating pharmacies to covered persons. This list is subject to periodic review and modification by the plan.

Our formulary is based on the following criteria: effectiveness, safety (both of which are established by the FDA), therapeutic role in treatment and overall cost effectiveness. All medications on our formulary are FDA approved to be safe and effective for their therapeutic indications. This is our primary consideration when evaluating any medication. Any rebate or discount that is negotiated with the manufacturing pharmaceutical company takes place only after a medication has been recognized as therapeutically effective. And it is entirely up to a patient’s physician as to whether a certain medication should be prescribed for said patient. Should a prescription be written for a non-preferred medication, the patient’s pharmacist may contact the physician and request substitution with a preferred medication.

It is best that a patient show this formulary to his/her physician before a medication is prescribed. This will help to avoid any delay in filling the prescription should the patient later wish to have a preferred medication as opposed to a non-preferred medication. All generic medications are included on the formulary, however, only some are listed due to limited space.

Any new generic medications that are approved by the FDA as therapeutically equivalent and bioequivalent are automatically covered under this formulary in accordance with plan policy. We believe, in general, that generic drugs are the most cost effective medications in many cases since they are far lower in price than brand name drugs and since they are older drugs, physicians are more familiar with them in regard to their side effects.

Note that generic medications are listed on the formulary in lower case letters and brand name medications are listed on the formulary in upper case letters.

BRAND NAME DRUGS: Name identifying a drug as the product of a specific pharmaceutical company. Also known as proprietary trademark name. Brand name drugs under patent protection are drugs protected by a patent issued to the original innovator or marketer. The patent prohibits the manufacture of the drug by other companies without consent of the innovator, as long as the patent remains in effect. *

PREFERRED BRAND NAME DRUGS: Brand name drugs chosen by our P. & T. Committee as preferred over other brand name drugs within the same therapeutic class. *

GENERIC DRUGS: Drugs that are approved by the FDA, which have been shown to be safe and effective, and are therapeutically equivalent and bio-equivalent to brand name drugs. These drugs contain the identical active ingredients and amounts as the brand name drugs. However, the generic drugs may be different in appearance in manners such as shape, size or color. The substitution of brand name drugs with generics will, in virtually all cases, produce the greatest savings for the client.

"Open" Formulary

"Closed" Formulary

"Multi-Tier" Formulary