#24 A week in the name of medicines safety – part 1

To mark #MedSafetyWeek, which takes place from 6–12 November, we’re releasing a special two-part episode on pharmacovigilance communication campaigns. In this first part, we speak to Mitul Jadeja from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK about under-reporting and how initiatives like #MedSafetyWeek can help draw attention to medicines safety.

Tune in to find out:

• Why under-reporting plagues all pharmacovigilance systems
• What regulators can do to encourage people to report side effects
• Why we need reports from both patients and healthcare professionals

Want to know more?

 Here are the studies cited in the episode:

• A BMJ study in 2022 measured the burden and associated cost of adverse drug reactions, polypharmacy and multimorbidity at a hospital in the UK.
• In 1976, Inman proposed a theoretical model, known as the ‘seven deadly sins’, to explain why healthcare professionals fail to report adverse drug reactions. This recent systematic review in Drug Safety expands on that. 
• The SCOPE Joint Action project aimed to enhance pharmacovigilance in the EU and delivered practical guidance for regulators.
• The first UK study to compare Yellow Card reports from patients and healthcare professionals was published in 2012.

To join the #MedSafetyWeek campaign next week, follow the hashtag online and check out the campaign website for free social media materials.

Finally, don’t forget to tune in on 13 November for part 2 of this podcast, where we’ll hear from #MedSafetyWeek advocates in Iraq, Luxembourg, and Namibia about their experience with the campaign. Read a preview of the conversation on Uppsala Reports.

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Read more about Uppsala Monitoring Centre and how we work to advance medicines safety.