Clinical pharmacy and pharmacovigilance: Integrating patient-centred care with drug safety monitoring

Clinical pharmacy and pharmacovigilance are closely related disciplines that are crucial in contemporary healthcare systems. While clinical pharmacy is concerned with improving therapeutic effectiveness through direct patient care and evidence-based drug therapy, pharmacovigilance is concerned with detecting, assessing, rectifying, and reducing ADRs to enhance patient safety. The evolution of both clinical pharmacy and pharmacovigilance shows an increase in pharmacotherapeutic complexity and the role of multi-disciplinary responsibility in healthcare. Clinical pharmacists are well-positioned to engage in pharmacovigilance because they are often the closest stakeholders. The combination of clinical_pharmacy and pharmacovigilance provides an approach to patient treatment and the provision of safe, effective, and personalized healthcare. Specific challenges discussed include underreporting of ADRs, lack of awareness of ADRs, and lack of education and training related to clinical pharmacy and pharmacovigilance including areas for improvement. In the future, some of the advocated perspectives on digital technologies, artificial intelligence (AI) and policy reforms applicable to clinical pharmacy and pharmacovigilance will be discussed. Emphasising audacious initiatives in education, regulatory alignment and interdisciplinary collaboration would improve healthcare systems around the world. Clinical pharmacy and pharmacovigilance are two healthcare delivery corner stones. While it has always touted personalized treatment and therapy as well as patient care and education, pharmacovigilance ensures on-going assessment and quality assurance via continual monitoring of ADRs.