5PSQ-095 Hospital pharmacists engagement in pharmacovigilance practices during COVID-19 in the North Macedonia

• Published in: European journal of hospital pharmacy. Science and practice Vol. 31; no. Suppl 1; pp. A207 - A208
• Main Authors: Lazarova, B, Kovaceva, M, Simonovska Crcareka, M, Kapedanovska Nestorovska, A, Naumovska, Z
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London British Medical Journal Publishing Group 20.03.2024; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Conflicts of interest; COVID-19; Pandemics; Pharmacovigilance; Questionnaires; Section 5: Patient safety and quality assurance; Republic of North Macedonia
• ISSN: 2047-9956; 2047-9964
• DOI: 10.1136/ejhpharm-2024-eahp.429

Background and ImportancePharmacists are acknowledged as safety leaders worldwide, since they have high impact of patients’ safety, and it was confirmed during COVID-19 pandemic. In the Republic of North Macedonia hospital pharmacists (HPs) were nationally recognised as a key factor for implementation of good pharmacovigilance (PV) practices and since 2017 they are engaged in PV working group in Macedonian Regulatory Agency (MALMED), actively working on rising the awareness and improvement of Adverse Events (AEs) reporting.Aim and ObjectivesThe questionnaire-based research aimed to evaluate the curtail role of HPs in implementation of good PV practices during COVID-19 pandemic in overloaded hospitals.Material and MethodsNon-Interventional, questionnaire-based study evaluating the knowledge, attitudes and engagement HPs for pharmacovigilance during COVID-19 pandemic was performed among HPs in the Republic of North Macedonia in July 2022. Obtained data were computed and assessed using statistical software STATGRAPHICS Centurion XVI evaluation (StatPoint technologies Inc., USA).ResultsThe survey was completed by 35 (representing almost 50%) of HPs in our country. The average age of respondents was 45.4±12.9 years, more than 40% have over 20 years working experience as HPs and almost 70% are working in public hospitals. Although 83% of HPs confirmed that have reported an adverse event (AE) during their working practice and are experienced in implementation of good PV practices, only 13% of HPs strongly agreed and 39.1% agreed, that received the information for AEs associated to COVID-19 treatment and almost the same percentage of HPs reported the AEs to the Agency. Low level of reporting by HPs (17.4%) was observed also for off-label use of drugs during the pandemic. Additionally, only 17.4% of HPs were consulted for the procedure of adverse event reporting to the Agency by other healthcare professionals suggesting that they are still not recognised as safety leaders in hospitals.Conclusion and RelevanceAlthough HPs are nationally recognised as stakeholders in the improvement of good PV practices, they were not fully engaged in AEs identification and reporting during COVID-19 and appreciation of their PV expertise in hospitals have to be improved. Appropriate PV education alongside with utilisation of contemporary software opportunities is suitable approach for improvement of AEs reporting, medicines safety and public health.References and/or AcknowledgementsConflict of InterestNo conflict of interest.