Pharmacovigilance: A practical approach for reshaping patient safety

Abstract

Ensuring patient safety and efficacy of medicines is one of the top challenges in healthcare today. Numbers of adverse effects, drug-interactions and risk factors have been reported later in the years of drug release and hence post-marketing surveillance is today's need. Pharmacovigilance is the important and integral part of clinical research dedicated to reduce the risk of drug-related harms to patient. Pharmacovigilance encompasses the science and practice related to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects of drugs or any other possible drug-related problems. It has been regarded as a type of continual monitoring of unwanted effects, adverse drug interactions and other safety-related aspects of drugs, which are already placed in markets. The objective of the present article is to provide a succinct review on the importance of Pharmacovigilance practice in establishing and maintenance of rational use of drugs within the ambit of pharmacotherapy. The promotion of systematic and rational use of drugs requires the reporting of adverse events of medicine and proper implementation from everyone in healthcare sector. Thus, in summary this review attempts to stress that systematic pharmacovigilance is essential to build up reliable information network on the safety of medicines to boost confidence about their safety.The scientists, clinicians, pharmaceutical manufacturers, drug developers, regulators, public policy makers, patients and the general public all have their own complementary roles in achieving what is envisaged.