Drug products reimbursed under the ODB program are evaluated and recommended for listing by the ministry's external expert drug advisory committee, the Committee to Evaluate Drugs (CED)). Limited Use (LU) drugs are those drugs recommended by the CED as having value in specific circumstances, although they may not be appropriate for general listing in the Formulary/CDI.

Limited Use drugs may :

• have the potential for widespread use outside the indications for which benefit has been demonstrated;
• be useful but are associated with predictable severe adverse effects and a less toxic alternative is available as a benefit;
• be very costly and a lower-cost alternative is available as a general benefit.

As a result, the CED may recommend that a drug product be listed as a LU product in the Formulary and be reimbursed only when specific clinical criteria/conditions have been met. Designating certain drugs as LU benefits provides an opportunity to make drugs available as formulary benefits, under certain conditions, with relatively easy access in lieu of a more involved process like the Exceptional Access program. The legislative authority, allowing the ministry to reimburse certain drug products as LU benefits, is provided for in the regulations under the Ontario Drug Benefit Act which indicate that "The Minister shall pay an amount in respect of the supplying of a listed drug product if such clinical criteria as may be specified for the product in Part III of the Formulary are met." Payment can be made only when the specific clinical criteria have been met.

The downloadable handbook below contains a list of commonly prescribed Limited Use drugs and reimbursement criteria. The drugs are listed in therapeutic categories by brand name. Drugs with similar criteria are grouped together. An index is provided at the end of the book which provides page numbers and a cross reference of generic to brand names. For the complete list of products and more information on the Limited Use process, please refer to the Formulary.

September 2005 The Handbook of Limited Use Drug Products 80 pages | 139 kb | PDF format

January 12 and March 1, 2006 September 2005 Limited Drug Use Handbook : Update A 4 pages | 51 kb | PDF format

April 19, 2006 September 2005 Limited Drug Use Handbook : Update B 1 page | 17 kb | PDF format

June 15, 2006 September 2005 Limited Drug Use Handbook : Update C 1 page | 16 kb | PDF format

October 23, 2006 September 2005 Limited Drug Use Handbook : Update 13 of the ODB Formulary/CDI (ed. 39) 2 page | 402 kb | PDF format

March 9, 2007 September 2005 Limited Drug Use Handbook : Update 15 of the ODB Formulary/CDI (ed. 39) 1 pages | 31 kb | PDF format

April 11, 2007 September 2005 Limited Drug Use Handbook : Update 16 of the ODB Formulary/CDI (ed. 39) 1 pages | 31 kb | PDF format

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