Goa DFDA issues directives to 1,017 retail pharmacies to report ADRS

In a major boost towards patient safety, the Goa Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (DFDA) has issued directives to all the 1,017 licensed retail pharmacies in the state to implement reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) through a QR code recently introduced by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC).

- Shardul Nautiyal, Mumbai

The Ghaziabad based IPC, which is also the National Coordination Centre (NCC) of the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI), has introduced the first-of-its-kind initiative in five states of India along with Goa to report ADRs through a QR code.

The QR code directly links to the reporting page of ADR Monitoring System (ADRMS) software of PvPI and PvPI toll-free number (1800 180 3024) dedicated to ADR reporting.

As per the directives, the retail pharmacies are supposed to place a poster with a standardized QR code in a conspicuous place to empower consumers and patients to directly report ADRs.