The role of pharmacovigilance in patient safety in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

A pharmacovigilance system is essential to prevent or minimize the risk of adverse drug-related events. It is necessary that both health institutions and drug manufacturers and health surveillance have risk management guidelines. With the rapid spread and evolution of COVID-19, researchers have been looking for treatments capable of curing or delaying the disease. However, the time required for the development of new drugs is prolonged, so some existing drugs are emerging as alternatives. Due to the relevance of patient safety as a public health problem, health authorities have been demanding the monitoring of the risk-benefit associated with the use of each drug. Despite the limitations regarding the nature of information in pharmacovigilance studies, it is still possible to use it for health regulation and definition of strategic actions to reduce unwanted outcomes, such as adverse drug events and deaths. Thus, this literature review article aimed to present the relevance of pharmacovigilance related to patient safety in the period of the Covid-19 pandemic.