Panjasaram Naidoo
University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
Title: Can Pharmacist ensure drug safety in the healthcare system or are there barriers
Biography
Biography: Panjasaram Naidoo
Abstract
Pharmacists have a central role in drug safety by contributing to the prevention, identification, documentation and reporting of ADRs. Pharmacists do not have the same clinical experience as physicians but are capable of reporting ADRs on their own. Pharmacovigilance (PV) as a means of ensuring drug safety is an essential component of the process ensuring that the risk of drug use does not outweigh the benefit. Pharmacists are valuable in collecting PV information. Using a pre-tested questionnaire a study was done to explore the knowledge and practise of PV amongst the pharmacists in a selected district of North West Province, South Africa. This study found that pharmacists although familiar with the concept of PV, demonstrated a low knowledge score. They however agreed that PV is a useful tool to ensure drug safety. Although more than 90% indicated that all adverse drug reactions should be reported, only 44.1% indicated that they have reported adverse drug reactions (ADRs) with pharmacists citing barriers that prevented them from reporting ADRs. Over 80% indicated that they would participate in further PV training and more than half indicated that they would like to see improvements to the current PV system in South Africa. Overcoming these barriers would be an important step forward in ensuring that pharmacists take their rightful role amongst other HP in ensuring drug safety.