WIREDGOV

Health and social care professionals in England can now download for free the NICE British National Formulary for children (BNFC) app available for smart phones and tablets.

The BNFC app presents essential practical information to help prescribe, monitor, supply, and administer medicines for childhood disorders.

Covering neonates to adolescents, the BNFC app includes key clinical and pharmaceutical information, organised by the familiar BNF Classification.

The app deals with the drug management of childhood conditions more extensively then the BNF and includes greater detail on the unlicensed use of medicines, and specialist neonatal and paediatric interventions.

The BNFC app follows the successful launch of the NICE BNF and NICE Guidance apps, both of which have proved to be hugely popular.

Since its launch on 18 June 2012, the NICE BNF app has been one of the most popular health apps with over 59,000 downloads.

The NICE Guidance app has been downloaded by more than 60,000 users since it was launched in March 2012.

The NICE BNFC app is available free to health and social care professionals who work for or who are contracted by NHS England, and can be downloaded via the Apple App Store and Google Play.

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 BNFC.

Eligible professionals who do not yet have an NHS Athens password can register for free online at or directly from their smartphone and tablet by following the instructions displayed in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

Dr Hilary Cass, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: "Children are not mini adults so prescribing them the correct medication at the right dose and at the right time is crucial when delivering the best possible care.

“This new and informative app will allow clinicians to do this anywhere, at anytime, safely, accurately and quickly, which will leave them more time to do what they do best - seeing and treating their patients.”

Sir Andrew Dillon, NICE Chief Executive, added: "NICE is determined to play a leading role in the digital revolution taking place in health and social care. Information is our business and we want to be at the forefront of the rapidly changing technological environment.

"Our continued collaboration with BNF Publications means that the introduction of the NICE BNFC app will help meet demand among the increasing numbers of health and care professionals who want to access high quality information on the move via their smartphone or tablet.

"All our digital developments so far - NICE Pathways, NHS Evidence and now our three smartphone apps - show that we are taking the initiative and seizing the opportunities provided by technology to extend the reach of our products and services."