A second information "Awareness Week" campaign about the possible side effects of non-prescription medicines within the European Union.

The "Awareness Week" campaign is an initiative under the Joint Action on "Strengthening Collaboration for Operational Pharmacovigilance Europe SCOPE". One of the main objectives is to raise awareness of national reporting systems for suspected adverse drug reactions. This year, the Uppsala Monitoring Centre, WHO UMC in Uppsala, Sweden, supports the campaign.

20.11.2017

Make your contribution for making medicines safer by reporting suspected side effects: The Bulgarian Drugs Agency (BDA) is launching an online campaign.

Within 20-24 of November 2017 BDA runs an online campaign to promote the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions. It is part of the second Awareness Week campaign within the European Union. This year's campaign focuses on non-prescription medicines.

With all medicines may occur side effects, even with the non-prescription ones. It is important for medicines regulators to identify the risks associated with the use of medicines and to inform medical professionals, patients and the public about them.

Possible side effects may range from mild and rapid transient to serious, requiring medical intervention. Announcement of side effects helps regulators to monitor medicines on the market and take the necessary actions. It is a beneficial to report suspected side effects that occur: due to interaction with more than one drug; after prolonged use; as a result of interactions with food or other products, etc.

Regulatory bodies, such as the BDA, rely on reporting suspected side effects to make sure that the safety of medicines on the market is within the required standarts. Unfortunately, there is a low level of communication with all reporting systems. For this reason, our campaign is important both for raising awareness and for improving the reporting system.

The "Awareness Week" campaign is an initiative on the Joint Action on Strengthening Collaboration for Operational Pharmacovigilance in Europe (SCOPE). One of the main objectives is to raise awareness of national reporting systems for suspected side effects. This year, the campaign is supported by the WHO Uppsala Monitoring Center (UMC) in Uppsala, Sweden.

Every day, within the campaign (21-24 of November 2017), various information materials will be published inviting increased activity to report suspected side effects.

Always discuss possible side effects with patients in the prescribing process. Report side effects on the BDA contacts: tel .: +359 2 8903417; e-mail: bda@bda.bg, online: www.bda.bg/Application for reporting of suspected side effects by non-medical individuals.