Even as the pharmacovigilance programme of India (PvPI), launched by the Union health ministry, is fast improving with reporting of adverse drug reactions from various places in the country, the academicians and experts in pharmacy practice argue that the task of monitoring ADRs should be entrusted with the Pharm D graduates for the success of the programme.

According to sources, after completing the six-year course, 300 Pharm D graduates will come out in three months out of 10 colleges in the country. They are all well-trained in pharmacovigilance, hence their potential should be utilized for the proper management of the healthcare of the people.

According to Dr Gopal Veni, principal of the College of Pharmacy, Mother Teresa Institute of Health Sciences, Pondicherry, the Pharmacovigilance programme must be a team work of doctors and qualified pharmacists. The Pharm D graduates should be the vital members of team in carrying out the pharmacovigilance activity.

“Doctors are also essential part of the team work, but the authority of medicines is not the doctor, but the pharmacist. Those who have completed the six year course, Pharm D, are very much capable of monitoring the adverse drug reactions and they know the good and bad sides of the drug. The pharmacists are the messengers of medicine. So the potential of the Pharm D graduates should be utilized in establishing pharmacovigilance,” Dr Gopal commented.

Dr KG Revikumar, former chief and head, Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy, Government Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, said the Pharm D and M Pharm - Pharmacy Practice people should be allowed to actively involve in the national pharmacovigilance programme if the objective of the programme is realized. They are better trained and educated in the practice side of pharmacovigilance than the medical graduates who studied pharmacology. According to Dr Revikumar, the medical graduates in pharmacology do not have the practical skills in the area.

The only category of health care professional students who are taught the theory and practice of pharmacovigilance at the graduate and post graduate levels are pharmacy students, he opined.

Dr Atmaram Pawar, dean of Pharmacy, Bharati Vidyapeeth University Pune, said pharmacovigilance is an important aspect of any medicine therapy but health care team has so far not paid any attention on the issue. He said the objective of the course itself is promoting health care by minimizing adverse effects. Internationally, Pharm D pharmacists have been accepted and their abilities proven to tackle the issues of pharmacovigilance. The Pharm D syllabus includes clinical aspects, therapeutics and toxicity of allopathic drugs. Therefore every hospital with bed strength above 50 should have permanent clinical pharmacist and small hospitals and clinics should screen the prescriptions with the help of clinical pharmacists. So the Pharm D people should be entrusted with the task of Pharmacovigilance.

Dr Tirumalai Elango, registrar of Tamil Nadu pharmacy council and the former drug control official, said the adverse drug reaction monitoring is not a new concept, it has been continuing in the developed countries and with WHO. He said if the purpose has to be achieved, qualified pharmacists should be given major role in the pharmacovigilance programme.

“The doctors are efficient in diagnosing the patients, analysing the diseases and prescribing medicines. That is true, but they are not the authority in drugs. Drug stability, drug interaction, bio-availability of drugs etc. are pharmacy subjects. ADR monitoring should be done by pharmacists who know all about the drug and its reaction. They have the formulation knowledge, without which how can the side effects be reported ? But the doctors also must join with the pharmacists. Doctors’ role is very much important as they alone can decide the exact result of the clinical manifestation. So, for the success of the PvPI, the Pharm D graduates in the country should be included in the programme,” he told Pharmabiz.

B Rajan, president of Kerala state pharmacy council said the Pharm D graduates are well-studied in the area of pharmacovigilance. The main objective of the course itself is to find out the adverse reactions of drugs. So, the PvPI programme should be entrusted with the Pharm D graduates guided by doctors.

All attempts to contact Dr B Suresh, president of the Pharmacy Council of India, who introduced the Pharm D in India, for his comment on the subject have failed.