BoMRA launches Medsafety Mobile Apps
Medicines are among the most important health interventions sadly no drug is 100 percent safe, as safety of a medicine is always defined in a context.
Director at Pharmacovigilance and Clinical Trials, Dr. Partha Gurumurthy said this at the Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority ( BoMRA)’ s patient medicines safety reporting platforms launch, which took place during the global MedSafety week.
MedSafety week is an international campaign organised every year to raise awareness of Adverse Drug Reactions ( ADRs) and national reporting systems. The theme of this year’s campaign is “every report counts”.
In order to participate in the event BoMRA has launched med safety reporting platforms that include; Medsafety mobile app, email reporting, direct call to BoMRA, sms and direct walk in’s, which are available for use by general public.
CEO of BoMRA, Dr. Stephen Ghanie revealed that these platforms will enable patients and medical practitioners to report adverse reactions of any medicine and vaccine, which could help for corrections to take place.
He said that some adverse reactions are rare and only become known after medicines have been used by a large number of people over a long period hence the App would help.
BoMRA enlisted Healthcare Professionals & Healthcare Facilities, Public Health Programs, Market Authorisation Holders, District Health Management Teams ( DHMTs) and Academia, on the initiative to ensure wide reach.
According to Dr. Gurumurthy, BoMRA conducted many outreach programmes to sensitise Health Care Professionals ( HCPs) on the need for monitoring the patients for adverse effects and importance of ADR reporting and also raised their awareness about drug induced illnesses.
“When a medicine is approved for use, we will not have the full understanding of the safety of this medicine. Post Authorisation Surveillance for both safety and quality are essential,” explained Dr Gurumurthy.
“One of BoMRA’s mandates is to ensure that all medicines and related substances used in Botswana are in conformity with established criteria of quality, safety, and efficacy, and to establish the safety of a medicine in our population in Botswana, Post Authorisation Surveillance for both safety and quality are essential,” Dr. Gurumurthy said.
He added that in building a National Pharmacovigilance ( Medicines Safety Monitoring) Programme, BoMRA has introduced different platforms for easy reporting of ADRs. This active engagement and introduction of reporting tools has yielded results already.
“We have 435 plus ADRs reported to BoMRA in the past year, and we were also able to meet the WHO minimum requirements for a functional national pharmacovigilance system during this time, which is a remarkable progress.
“As a part of our strategy in building national PV programme BoMRA partnered with hospitals to establish ADR Monitoring and Reporting Centres ( AMCs) in these hospitals,” he said.
BoMRA has in consultation with MoHW, identified 12 hospitals in the country in different geographical locations to establish AMCs and develop these hospitals as regional centres for training and advocacy in medicines safety monitoring.
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Edwin Dikoloti admitted that medicines used for treating patients are intended for doing good, but at times may also do harm, and cause adverse drug reactions.
He applauded BoMRA for the initiative. He indicated that globally, it is recognised that healthcare professionals do not report adverse drug reactions observed in their clinical practice.
“It is estimated that only 6- 10 percent of all Adverse Drug Reactions are reported. Hence direct participation of the patients in reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions is encouraged in many parts of the progressive world,” said Dr. Dikoloti.
In Africa, he said Ghana and Nigeria have taken the lead in patient reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions, and so he is glad that BoMRA through its National Medicines Safety Monitoring programme contributes a lot towards their strategic objective of improving health outcomes.
BoMRA has launched Four ADR Monitoring Centers in the last 3 months in Maun, Orapa, Ramotswa and Kasane, and will next week launch two more AMCs at Nyangabwe Hospital and Tati River Hospital in Francistown.
Patients in direct reporting of ADRs have been encouraged to report ADRs ( side effects) they experience after taking medications. The campaign is expected to build a national database of adverse reactions that helps to identify new safety issues, if people report reactions.
“Every report counts and contributes to improving the safety of medicines for all patients,” Dr Gurumurthy said.
World Health Organisation ( WHO) Country Representative Josephine Namboze described the initiative as a tremendous achievement during Covid- 19.
She applauded BoMRA’s initiative observing that WHO recognises patientsafety as a priority for improving quality health care. The system is also aware of the patient’s names and requirements.