The national palliative care guidelines make recommendations about the use of various drugs.  These recommendations should be considered alongside the information contained below.

It is recognised that some medicines will be initiated by a specialist and care may transfer to a generalist setting. The presentation, indications, doses and routes of administration may be unfamiliar to practitioners and medicines information sheets will be made available. The medicine information sheets are  colour coded to indicate medicines used under specialist guidance and those for more general use.

Red– For medicines normally initiated and used under specialist guidance

Amber – For medicines normally initiated by a specialist but may be used by generalists

Green – For medicines routinely initiated and used by generalists

• The following medicines are coded    green
• Dexamethasone
• Fentanyl patches
• Levomepromazine
• Morphine
• Naloxone
• Oxycodone

• The following medicines are coded    amber

• Buccal midazolam
• Buprenorphine patches
• Quick acting Fentanyl (Pecfent, Effentora, Abstral)
• †Lidocaine plaster
• Octreotide

The following medicines are coded    red

• Alfentanil
• †Clonazepam†
• †Hydromorphone†
• †Ketamine
• †Levetiracetam (subcutaneous infusion)
• Methadone
• Methylnaltrexone
• Phenobarbital (phenobarbitone)