What does AHFS mean in HOSPITALS
AHFS stands for American Hospital Formulary Service. It is a leading source of drug information used by pharmacists, physicians, and other healthcare professionals in the United States. AHFS provides access to comprehensive drug information in print and electronic forms. This includes evidence-based information on approved drugs, unapproved drugs, herbal medicines, dietary supplements, veterinary drugs, medical supplies and device products. AHFS also offers assessment tools and reference text to help healthcare professionals make informed decisions about drug therapy. With this information, healthcare professionals can better assess patient care needs and improve quality of care outcomes.
AHFS meaning in Hospitals in Medical
AHFS mostly used in an acronym Hospitals in Category Medical that means American Hospital Formulary Service
Shorthand: AHFS,
Full Form: American Hospital Formulary Service
For more information of "American Hospital Formulary Service", see the section below.
What Does AHFS Stand For?
The acronym “AHFS” stands for American Hospital Formulary Service. AHFS is a comprehensive source of drug information used by pharmaceutical companies, medical professionals, and health insurance providers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico for evidence-based selection of drugs and treatments. It is developed by the ASHP (American Society of Health-System Pharmacists) with contributions from related organizations such as FDA (Food & Drug Administration), USP (U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention), NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network) and AACR (American Association for Cancer Research).
What is American Hospital Formulary Service?
AHFS is an integrated system that provides prescribers with up-to-date scientific drug data so they can make informed decisions about patient medication use through medication safety assessments and therapeutic directives. AHFS includes detailed monographs on prescription medications along with dosing recommendations; comprehensive therapeutics outlines that provide summaries of disease states; product labels; pharmacokinetics tables; dosage forms tables; clinical practice guidelines; safety guidelines from professional organizations; patient education material; literature searches via PubMed; etc. All content is extensively peer-reviewed by experts in the field before it is published or updated online or in print form.
Essential Questions and Answers on American Hospital Formulary Service in "MEDICAL»HOSP"
What is the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS)?
The American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) is a comprehensive source of information on drug therapy that provides for legal, safe and effective medical practice. AHFS includes information concerning drugs, therapeutic agents, IV fluids and other products prescribed for medical care. It also offers therapeutic evaluation of agents used in clinical medicine.
Who produces the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS)?
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) publishes the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS). AHFS is the only complete source of unbiased and independent evaluation of medication efficacy published by ASHP.
What type of information does the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) provide?
The American Hospital Formulary Service provides detailed monographs that cover scientific data, pharmacology, clinical effects, interactions with other medications, dosing guidelines, adverse reactions, and cost analysis.
What is included in an AHFS Drug Information monograph?
An AHFS Drug Information monograph includes product descriptions; generic names; trade names with manufacturer; U.S.-approved indications; available dosage forms; preparations; pharmacologic classifications including therapeutic classes and categories; pharmacologic action and mechanism of action; adverse reactions/side effects when appropriate; laboratory test interferences/specificities when appropriate; drug abuse liability when appropriate; dosage and administration instructions along with precautions to observe while administering medications including contraindications/warnings/precautions associated with their use; interactions between drugs including both general contraindications between drug classes as well as specific interactions between individual drugs or brand names within those classes when applicable; signs/symptoms to monitor for during therapy or upon discontinuation of a drug product when appropriate.
Is there an online version available?
Yes, the AHFS Drug Information Monographs are accessible online via e-resources within libraries worldwide. Many universities have student access to the online version through library subscriptions.
How does AHFS help in patient care?
By providing easy access to reliable medication information, it can help practitioners make informed decisions about prescribing therapies that will ultimately lead to improved patient outcomes. The depth of detail provided by each monograph allows healthcare providers to understand more about how a certain medication works and what possible side effects may result from its use.
Is there any cost involved to access AHFS?
Yes, access to the full version of AHFS Drug Information Monograph can be accessed through subscription fees paid by educational institutions or libraries who own a license for this resource. However some free sources are available such as PubMed Central archives which offer full-text articles for free downloading up until 2017.
Does AHF include off-label uses?
Yes - According to FDA regulations, health care practitioners may prescribe products not approved by FDA for off label uses if it is based on sound medical judgment supported by adequate scientific evidence that such use is safe and effective.
Final Words:
In summary, the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) is an essential resource used by pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals to make safe evidence-based decisions regarding medication use for their patients. By accessing updates from recognized regulatory agencies such as The Food & Drug Administration (FDA), The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) & The National Institute Of Health’s USP Compendium both practitioners and patients can be assured that they are making clinically sound decisions when selecting the best therapeutic options available.