Defining the awareness and attitude of the clinicians through pharmacovigilance in Turkey

BACKGROUND: Pharmacovigilance (PV) is the activities and scientific studies conducted to detect, evaluate, understand or prevent adverse reactions and other drug-related problems. AIM: To define the awareness and experiences of the clinicians on PV and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in Turkey. METHODS: The study was cross-sectional and analytical. Data were obtained through a questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent via e-mail. The survey was sent to 2030 physicians and 670 participated. RESULTS: The most appropriate definition of PV was correctly defined by 53.9% of the participants. The most important goal of PV was correctly defined by 54.9% of the participants, and 27.3% of the participants were aware of the Turkish Pharmacovigilance Center. Nonsurgical physicians had better PV knowledge than surgical physicians. A total of 80.9% of the physicians who encountered ADRs, filled in the ADR notification form, and 8.8% received training on how to fill in the form. PV knowledge of the clinicians was not sufficient. Although half of the physicians encountered ADRs, the rates of seeing and filling in the ADR form were low. CONCLUSION: Few of the physicians followed the current information about PV. The results provide more comprehensive data on PV practices and ADR reporting at a national level.