Exploration of Perception, Need and Barriers against Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions Reporting: Healthcare Professionals’ Insight

Objective: The present study was designed to assess the perception, need and the barriers of PV and ADRs reporting in the hospital settings of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2019 to February 2020 by the random sampling in the healthcare professionals including physicians, pharmacists and nurses. Questionnaire was distributed to 525 participants (n=175 from each group) being serving for one or more year in hospitals and clinics. Overall, 425 participants were responded having 138 physicians, 143 pharmacists and 145 nurses. Results: Perception of pharmacovigilance was found to be 81.02%, 73.40% and 35.17% respectively in physicians, pharmacists and nurses. Overall, 80.70% of respondents were felt the need of drug monitoring system in each hospital to improve patients’ responses against treatment. The main hindrance for PV in our society was the lacking/ absence of the ADRs monitoring and reporting system marked by the physicians and pharmacists. Conclusion: ADRs reporting and pharmacovigilance are not practiced properly in our region. It’s a time to pay attention to this neglected area not only to strengthen the infra structure of healthcare units but also to increase the patient compliance and to avoid any drug associated disaster in future.

Counterfeit medicines and combating in the Russian Federation

Summary. Falsification of medicines is a global problem in the modern world. The aim of the work is to analyze the problem of falsification of drugs in the Russian pharmaceutical market and measures to counter the creation and distribution of counterfeit drugs. Methods. Collection, systematization and analysis of modern data of scientific literature and the results of their own research on the relevant problem. Results. The share of counterfeit pharmaceutical products in Russia can reach 12%. The most common category of counterfeit drugs on the Russian pharmaceutical market the so-called drugs-copies. Visual distinctive features of counterfeit drugs are presented. According to the survey of pharmacy workers, 22.5% of pharmacists and pharmacists met with counterfeit drugs in their practice. The effectiveness of measures to combat counterfeit drugs in Russia is discussed. Huge hopes in this regard are placed on the track and Trance drug monitoring system. Conclusion. The fight against drug counterfeits must be systematic and involve all stakeholders. It is necessary to identify counterfeits at all stages of promotion of medicines from the manufacturer to the consumer. It is important for drug manufacturers to disseminate information about the distinctive features of their original products. The health Ministry promptly inform the pharmacy network about detected counterfeits. Employees of pharmacies should be familiar with modern methods of detecting counterfeit. Consumers medications needed to use the capabilities of the new system of monitoring medicines Track and Trance.

About the results of using the drug monitoring system

The paper describes the approaches and methods, used in the experiment on the implementation of the Federal state system for electronic monitoring the movement of drugs on the asis of a large region (Novosibirsk region), the regulatory framework, the analysis of the results of the experiment. The features of the process of implementation of the results are formulated and generalized, conclusions about the current efficiency of the experiment and measures to improve it are made.

Patterns of acne prescriptions: a study in a tertiary care unit

Background: Acne vulgaris is one of the most common dermatological disorder affecting the pilo sebaceous glands resulting in their blockage or inflammation. Symptoms of acne may include local erythema and tenderness and pain. Medication include benzoyl peroxide, retinoids, salicylic acid, alpha hydroxy acid, nicotinamide, azelaic acid, anti-seborrheic medications, hormonal treatment, anti-androgen medications and keratolytic soaps.Methods: About 166 patients who were treated for acne vulgaris were included into the study after taking the informed consent from the patients. This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee. The demographic details of the patients with regards to their, age sex, weight, BMI were taken. The acne was medically diagnosed, and the grade was assessed.Results: Out of the 166 patients included into the study, 92 (55%) were females while 74 (45%) were males and the mean age was 25.4±1.6 of the patients belonged to the middle class. Of the patients, most of them were adolescents or less than 25 years of age (54.2%). 64 of the patients were between 26-45 years while only 12 were >45 years of age. A total of 521 drugs were prescribed. Of them, 37.6% were through the oral route and 62.4% were topical the most common prescribed drugs were antimicrobials, both topical and oral.Conclusions: The multidrug prescription in most of the cases can be rationalized if a drug monitoring system can be effectively put into place. This would not only reduce the number of drugs per prescription but also the cost of treatment.

The British Columbia Alcohol and other Drug Monitoring System: Overview and Early Progress

This pilot project is a province-wide and nationally=supported collaboration intended to add value to existing monitoring and surveillance exercises that currently exist and are being developed in Canada. The fundamental aim is to create a system that generates a timely flow of data on hazardous patterns of substance use and related harms so as to inform public debate, to support effective policy, and to facilitate policy-relevant epidemiological research. Pilot and feasibility exercises have been conducted in relation to developing consistent questions in surveys of general and special populations, treatment system data, data on the contents of drugs seized by police, interviews with police, rates of alcohol and other drug mortality and morbidity, alcohol sales data, and data from the emergency departments. Wherever possible, links with the equivalent national data collection processes have been established to create consistencies. This article provides a general overview of the BC pilot monitoring system and discusses some potential advantages of planning and designing a comprehensive system with built-in consistencies across data collection elements.