Use of Drugs "off-licence"
Because some drugs used in Pain Management are not primarily marketed for use in pain some of them are used outside the terms of the licences granted to their makers – so-called “beyond-licence” or “off-licence” use. Though the manufacturers have not gone through the very involved and expensive process of getting such a licence the use of these drugs is common and well-established.
Further information on this is given in a booklet published by the British Pain Society, Using medicines beyond licence - information for patients (2005)
This document is an information booklet prepared on behalf of the Association for Palliative Medicine and the British Pain Society. This leaflet will help patients understand some important aspects of medicine licensing regulations and how these issues may affect them. This leaflet has been revised and rewritten with the support of the Plain English Campaign who have awarded it their Crystal Mark.
A copy of this document can be downloaded free of charge by clicking the image below.
Pain Service Website, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Webmaster Dr J G de Courcy, Consultant in Pain Medicine and Anaesthesia
email: pain.webmaster[at]glos.nhs.uk