The Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee operates in accordance with Article 44 of Act No. 100/2020 and Article 3 of Regulation No. 1450/2020.

About the Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee in Act No. 100/2020:

Landspítali shall have a Pharmaceutical Committee that works to ensure the safe and rational use of medicines at Landspítali and other public healthcare institutions (cf. Article 45). Its goal is to guarantee safety in medication management and to balance professional and financial responsibility in the selection and use of medicines.

The Minister appoints the Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee for a five-year term. Care must be taken to ensure that the committee members possess extensive knowledge in clinical medicine, clinical pharmacy, nursing, ethics, and healthcare finance. Alternate members shall be appointed in the same manner. The Minister shall issue operating rules for the committee, which must be published on the Landspítali website.

The Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee shall, among other things, make decisions regarding the use of medicines at public healthcare institutions, including those requiring special permits. It shall also evaluate whether and how medicines benefit patients, prepare guidelines and priority lists for medicines with regard to financial allocations for their implementation and use in healthcare services. Furthermore, the committee's role is to prepare and oversee the formulary (list of medicines) for public healthcare institutions.

The Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee shall provide an opinion to the Icelandic Medicines Agency before the Agency decides to classify a medicine as requiring a special permit. The committee shall also provide an opinion on cost-sharing for permit-required medicines, cf. Article 66. Opinions must be in writing and reasoned. All necessary documentation must accompany opinions submitted to the Icelandic Medicines Agency. The Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee shall make decisions on individual cost-sharing for medicines paid for by the hospital, including those falling under item 4 of paragraph 2 of Article 66. Applications for individual cost-sharing must be sent to the Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee.

Representatives of the Pharmaceutical Committee must not have specific and significant interests in the development, production, marketing, import, distribution, wholesale, or retail of medicines.

The Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee shall operate in cooperation with the Pharmaceutical Committee of the Icelandic Primary Healthcare Development Centre, cf. Article 45, and international collaborators. The committee may also consult with other healthcare professions and individual patient organizations as deemed necessary.

Decisions of the Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee are final at the administrative level and are not subject to appeal to the Minister.

Regulation on the appointment, role, and activities of the Landspítali Pharmaceutical Committee and the Pharmaceutical Committee of the Icelandic Primary Healthcare Development Centre.