Question

Explain how establishing a pharmacovigilance program in medication safety could reduce the risk of medication misadventure and justify the role of pharmacists in this area of practice.

Answer 1

INTRODUCTION

According to World Health Organization (WHO) Pharmacovigilance is the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other possible drug related problems. It plays most important role in establishing patients drugs safety. Medication misadventure or Adverse Drug Reaction is defined according to WHO as any response to a drug which is noxious and unintended and occurs at doses normally used in man for prophylaxis, diagnosis and  therapy of disease or the modification of physiological function. Almost full information of medication misadventure could be finding through the Pharmacovigilance.

TO ESTABLISH PHARMACOVIGILANCE PROGRAM

Firstly, the health care facility must educate its staff on the importance and significance of the program. The pharmacy department is the most suitable position to educate this because of its involvement in the pharmacy and therapeutics committee, pharmacokinetic dosing, drug utilization evaluation , and drug distribution.

There are some steps for establishing pharmacovgilance program include the following:

   1.Must develop definitions and classifications of Adverse drug reactions(ADRs) that work for the institution. The definitions and classifications in this chapter provide a good starting point for discussion.

2. Provide responsibility for the ADR program within the pharmacy and throughout other key departments.

  3. As cooperation is essential in initiation of a successful program must develop a program with approval from the pharmacy department, medical staff and nursing department, as well as other appropriate areas within the facility. .

4. Encourage awareness of the program by newsletters, e-mails, in-services, grand rounds presentations, and other educational programs are opportunities to increase awareness and garner support for the program.

5.. Screening ADRs should do continuously.

6. Essential step to monitor effects of medicine and ensuring the safe use of medicine is done by Post-marketing surveillance and continuous Pharmacovigilance.Pharmacovigilance plays an important role in ensuring patients drugs safety

ROLE OF A PHARMACIST

1.Pharmacists have an important role in the monitoring of on-going safety of medicines as part of their professional practice.

2. Pharmacist role in pharmacovigilance varies from country to country, but the professional responsibility is the same regardless of jurisdiction.

3. Pharmacists can build a trusted environment by counselling patients to reduce medication errors, improve safety and quality of care. Pharmacovigilance is recognized as a clinical discipline and serves as an indicator for practicing clinical care within the country .

4.Pharmacists act as an open arm to clinical expertise in sharing of resources including databases.

5.Pharmacists play an essential role in developing communication materials like newsletters and other publications through the drug information and poison centres which are utilized by professionals for disseminating drug alerts.

5.Educational training programs and workshops can clarify and enhance the knowledge of ADR reporting and how causality assessment of ADR is done. НLs will enable the pharmacists to play a prominent role in reporting ADRs and patient safety in the future