The Regional Pharmacovigilance Centre (south) with its eight peripheral units has reported around 2000 Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) within 9 months of its existence. Although the number of ADRs reported here is somewhat satisfactory, the Centre feels that the 2000 cases are small considering the actual potential of such events.

The centre, the first to set up an online ADR reporting facility through the JIPMER website, found that the new method with the help of IT has failed to collect adequate response from the doctors. On the other hand, the method of collecting reports by placing a drop box in each ward of the hospitals, has been helpful in getting more reports than the online method, according to Dr. C Adithan, Director professor and Coordinator of the Centre.

Apart from conducting awareness classes to doctors, the Regional Centre, located at Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, with its 8 peripheral centres at Coimbatore, Manipal, Banglore, Kochi, Chidambaram, Kolar, Mysore and Ooty, is planning to conduct awareness classes for nurses and pharmacists very soon.

"I feel that the number of cases we have reported now is only a tip of the iceberg. To get a complete picture, the doctors, nurses and other health workers including pharmacists should be vigilant and should report each and every case when they encounter," Dr. Adithan said.

The Regional Centre is also working on compiling the data of the 2000 reports in order to publish it in its unique monthly newsletter 'Drug Alert.' The director informed that the number of results from each of its peripheral centres and the severity wise ADR distribution statistics is yet to be compiled.

The centre is planning to conduct more number of awareness classes for all the health workers covering various rural and urban areas under the peripheral centres. The plans will be finalized with more details within a short time, according to Adithan.

Though the National Pharmacovigilance program commenced its operation by July 2005, the centre has yet to start the drug information services. The fund to facilitate the drug information services with at least 500 books has not been released by the Central Government so far. The centre expressed its hope that the funds will be allotted soon, so that the service through providing drug information will catalyse the awareness programs to encourage reporting of ADR in South India.