In a move to integrate nursing professionals into the pharmacovilgilance programme of India, the director general of health services (DGHS) recently directed all the healthcare authorities across the state and the Union Territories (UTs) to conduct programmes aimed at sensitizing the nurses on the role they can play in strengthening it. Experts stressed that it is imperative to ensure that all the stakeholders including the nurses work together to further reinforce and develop a strong ADR culture in the healthcare system.

Keen to facilitate their active participation in the ADRs, Dr Jagdish Prasad, DGHS has urged all the health authorities from the state and UTs to approach nearby ADR monitoring centres (AMCs) functioning under the PvPI for any technical assistance or pharmacovigilance related details. Prasad pointed out that since nursing professionals are not fully aware of the their active role in the ADR reporting today, a different action plan needs to be worked out to merge ADRs reporting into nursing practice.

To achieve this goal he pointed out that sensitization of the nursing professionals on pharmacovigilence and ADRs reporting is crucial as they have good knowledge of health criteria, symptoms of drugs and ADRs, given that they are in close contact with the patients, even longer than the physicians. IPC, which acts as the National Coordination Centre (NCC) for the PvPI, will be providing all the requisite training to the nurses.

This move comes in the wake of strong appeal made by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) to push for active involvement of nursing professionals in reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Experts believe that through this they will be able to leverage the best by not only effectively managing and monitoring the risk on medicine but also promoting patients safety.

The IPC recently met nursing professionals seeking their involvement in ADRs. The main objective behind this strategic move is to focus on preventable ADRs across the country by actively working with the nurses as they can play a key role in preventing such incidence through careful monitoring.

It is reported that nurses report 17 per cent of the total ADRs, of which 20 to 30 per cent of ADRs are preventable. IPC informs that preventable ADRs usually occurs due to prescription error, administration error etc.