Adverse drug reaction monitoring and reporting among physicians and pharmacists in Pakistan: a cross-sectional study

Background: The success of a reporting system of adverse drug reaction (ADR) depends on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the health care professionals. However, due to a lack of knowledge and poor contribution by healthcare workers, ADR remains underreported. To improve safety, proper identification and ADR reporting is necessary. Objective: This study was carried out to determine knowledge, attitude, and practices of ADR among physicians and pharmacists working in Pakistan and the factors which encourage and discourage effective reporting. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a pretested questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed among 333 physicians and 34 pharmacists with a 95.5% response rate. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Results: Pharmacists have more knowledge regarding ADR compared to physicians (47.1% vs. 13.8%, p < 0.001). Pharmacists also have a positive attitude compared to physicians (97.1% vs. 76.3%, p < 0.001). No significant difference was noticed in ADR practice by physicians and pharmacists (12.3% vs. 11.8, p = 0.92). The seriousness of ADR was the main factor that encouraged nearly all pharmacists to report, whereas among physician’s, seriousness and the unusualness of reaction, the new drug involvement, and confidence in diagnosis were the factors which encouraged them to report ADR. Conclusion: Overall, pharmacists had more knowledge and a positive attitude regarding ADR reporting compared to physicians, but practices of ADR reporting remained the same among both. Therefore, it is suggested that educational interventions, along with training programs, should be developed