How to measure the impact of pharmacovigilance activities on public health?

Background: Pharmacovigilance (PV) activities contribute to the protection and promotion of public health by reducing observed harm by more appropriate use of medicines. Measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of pharmacovigilance activities is complicated and remains challenging as it is not currently done so in a systematic way. Objectives: To discuss the importance of measuring the impact of PV activities on public health and assess the methods available to do so. Description: Measuring the impact of PV activities on public health is important as only by evaluating the system and identifying enablers and barriers are we able to pinpoint which activities are most successful. The ultimate goal is to develop a proactive pharmacovigilance system, which can be used by different stakeholders, where maximum effect is reached by optimal use. In this session, we will discuss the importance of assessing the impact of PV on public health, as well as present different methods used to assess the impact of PV activities. These methods vary from simple drug utilization studies to more complicated assessments, where various influences of the PV pathways, processes and stakeholder inputs are taken into consideration. The audience will be actively engaged by the panelists to participate in the discussion. Presentations will be based on (current) research experience and focus on methodological issues relevant for various stakeholders.