When it comes to 21st century pharmacovigilance, sometimes it’s important to look … backwards. According to the 10th century Arab physician, Ibn Sina, “The time of action must be observed, so that essence and accident are not confused.”
At the United Arab Emirates’ Sixth National Pharmacovigilance Conference” held last month in Dubai, specific recommendations (known as “the Dubai Declaration”) were released by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHP).
According to Dr. Amin Hussain Al Amiri (MoHP- Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Policy & Licensing Sector, the Declaration will be submitted to the regional Gulf Health Council for Cooperation Council States and the 22-member Arab League with the hope that this “would benefit the Arab World.”
The complete list of recommendations can be found here.
A few stand out from the rest, specifically:
1- Build trust in the critical role of testing medicines following registration and testing random sample from the field.
2- Enhance of pharmacovigilance education programs among HCPs in the region.
3- Include pharmacovigilance education in the academic curricula of medical and scientific schools and making it among the basics of education.
4- ADRs reporting must become a “culture of HCPs” who must not be embarrassed in doing so.
5- Enhance health education to raise public awareness on expected ADRs.
6- Reported ADRs to be categorized and separated according to originator medicine, generic, and the biological view of the difference in chemical compositions.
7- Focus on the educational role of pharmacovigilance officers among the various healthcare establishments in the region.
When it comes to the quality of medicines, remember the words of Dr. Janet Woodcock, (CDER Director, USFDA), “The spark that ignited the flame was when we asked ourselves, Do we know enough about the quality of drugs that are sold in the United States? And the answer was … no.”
We would all do well to learn not just from the past – but from other parts of the world. The West doesn’t have a monopoly on good ideas.
At the United Arab Emirates’ Sixth National Pharmacovigilance Conference” held last month in Dubai, specific recommendations (known as “the Dubai Declaration”) were released by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHP).
According to Dr. Amin Hussain Al Amiri (MoHP- Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health Policy & Licensing Sector, the Declaration will be submitted to the regional Gulf Health Council for Cooperation Council States and the 22-member Arab League with the hope that this “would benefit the Arab World.”
The complete list of recommendations can be found here.
A few stand out from the rest, specifically:
1- Build trust in the critical role of testing medicines following registration and testing random sample from the field.
2- Enhance of pharmacovigilance education programs among HCPs in the region.
3- Include pharmacovigilance education in the academic curricula of medical and scientific schools and making it among the basics of education.
4- ADRs reporting must become a “culture of HCPs” who must not be embarrassed in doing so.
5- Enhance health education to raise public awareness on expected ADRs.
6- Reported ADRs to be categorized and separated according to originator medicine, generic, and the biological view of the difference in chemical compositions.
7- Focus on the educational role of pharmacovigilance officers among the various healthcare establishments in the region.
When it comes to the quality of medicines, remember the words of Dr. Janet Woodcock, (CDER Director, USFDA), “The spark that ignited the flame was when we asked ourselves, Do we know enough about the quality of drugs that are sold in the United States? And the answer was … no.”
We would all do well to learn not just from the past – but from other parts of the world. The West doesn’t have a monopoly on good ideas.
