Pharmacovigilance: Practical Approaches to make it Serve its Purpose

The Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) was launched by Central Drug Standard Control Organization under the tutelage of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India in July 2010. The main obstacle is under reporting which curbs the functioning of PvPI. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To identify practical approaches towards increasing effectiveness of PvPI in order to formulate a practicable rather than ideal on-paper plan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After discussing various issues in regular clinical meets at our institute (NKPSIMS, Nagpur, M.S.) realistically implementable recommendations were taken into considerations without being overenthusiastic to contribute towards PvPI. Some of them were tested at our institute like compulsion for each undergraduate student to report at least two Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), lectures, Continued Medical Education (CME) and workshops on Pharmacovigilance. RESULTS: The results of these interventions were more than encouraging since we saw increased reporting, although results of some interventions were not quantitatively measurable. CONCLUSION: The present study has looked into several major aspects of the issue of underreporting of ADRs, and we suggest credible and practically executionable recommendations at each level of healthcare in order to increase reporting and help PvPI serve its purpose- to increase patient safety in terms of drug related problems. The present paper is a clamor for action by the medical fraternity and the regulatory establishments.