Why did the regulations change from having only the American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Pharmacologic-Therapeutic Classification to a list of specific drugs?

At the time the medications associated with the minor ailments were being identified, the intent of using drug categories was to have the flexibility to prescribe the most up-to-date medications available on the market. With a list of drugs written into the regulations, adding any new drugs to the Schedule would require going through the regulatory amendment process.

Due to concerns the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) raised about acquiring a license to utilize the AHFS classification system, which is a proprietary product, the College submitted drug lists for all of the previous and new minor ailments as part of these amendments.