Way forward to pharmacovigilance and adverse drug reaction monitoring in India: A critical review

Pharmacovigilance (PV) is the detection, assessment, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects of drugs and plays a key role in the healthcare system. It is concerned with the safety of drugs used in humans when the drug comes on the market. The PV data links the premarketing data with the safety information of a drug during the postmarketing surveillance phase. The journey would go a long way in establishing a strong PV system in our country and ensuring the safe use of medication. The Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC), Sweden, and the WHO Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring provide support to the members to establish the national PV center in the member countries for the safe use of drugs through monitoring. The UMC is a self-funded, nonprofit organization working with WHO and engaging with member countries for patient safety initiatives and safe use of medicines. The member countries have access to a range of PV resources and tools. All the member countries work nationally and have a worldwide PV network to monitor and identify various adverse effects related to drugs and vaccines to provide better health. The present research article provides insight into PV and various adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring tools in India and ways to create awareness among the healthcare professionals and consumers regarding the reporting of ADRs.