CHANDIGARH: University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences successfully marked the beginning of virtual weeklong celebrations on the occasion of National Pharmacovigilance Week from 17th September to 23rd September.
The celebrations began with a webinar on “Pharmacovigilance Basic Method Practices and Pharmacovigilance Programme of India” by Professor Bikash Medhi, Coordinator - PGIMER Pharmacovigilance Centre Regional Resource and Training & Technical Support Centre for North India; Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Additional Medical Superintendent (AMS), Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, on 18th September 2021.
Professor Indu Pal Kaur, Chairperson, UIPS briefed the audience about the theme "Pharmacovigilance Programme of India: The Current Initiative Towards Patient Safety". Professor Poonam Piplani, Convener, Lecture organizing team of UIPS, introduced the distinguished guest speaker.
Professor Bikash Medhi shared that every drug has adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and it is important to look for ways to minimise them and take maximum benefits. 5-10% of the hospital admissions are attributed to adverse drug reactions, out of which 0.3% are fatal in nature. He enlightened the audience about the World's biggest Thalidomide tragedy that instigated the Pharmacovigilance Programme worldwide, and about the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) which is largely involved in monitoring the safety profile of medical products used in India.
The webinar served as an extensive platform for communication & knowledge enrichment of the various stakeholders in the field of safety of medical products for the ultimate benefit of the patient.
Professor Kanwaljit Chopra, Head, Pharmacology & Former Chairperson UIPS, took charge of the Q&A session at the end. More than 170 participants attended the webinar.