BOMRA calls for side effect reports to make medicines safer
Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BoMRA) is appealing to citizens to report medical side effects to help them make medicines safer.
The Authority recently engaged in the global #MedSafetyWeek campaign, a collaboration involving more than 80 medicines regulatory agencies and non-governmental organisations to raise awareness about the importance of reporting side effects of medicines.
Under the theme ‘Who can report?’, this year’s campaign is focusing on the key role of every patient, doctor, nurse, and pharmacist who report a side effect and contribute to using medicines safely.
BOMRA CEO, Seima Dijeng said all reports made to BoMRA will be thoroughly assessed and examined to determine the right steps to be taken to protect the population from harm.
Since 2019, BoMRA has received and processed over 7 148 reports in which health professionals, patients and carers have played a key role.
“Every report is important in building more knowledge and understanding of the benefits and risks of medicines in clinical use and allows action to be taken to minimise risks.” He explained that all medicines agencies operate systems to detect and analyse side effects of medicines. The purpose of safety monitoring is to gain more information about known side effects and find out about new ones. “Constantly collecting and monitoring information from the reports received help identify risks associated with medicines and take action to minimise harm.” Dijeng stated that reporting suspected side effects to the Authority helps to make medicines safer for patients all around the world.
He said in some cases, it can result in better prescribing advice, which can improve patient outcomes. “If you, or a patient you are supporting, experiences a side effect with a medicine, make sure to report it to us promptly.” #MedSafetyWeek is an international campaign led by Uppsala Monitoring Centre (UMC), the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for International Drug Monitoring. The campaign is supported by World Health Organisation (WHO) and by members of the International Coalition of Medicines Regulatory Authorities (ICMRA). Reports about side effects can be submitted easily through the downloadable adverse drug reaction reporting form available on the BoMRA website and e-mail.