Suchergebnisse

Written by experienced authors, this book offers expert personal views on what the current problems in pharmacovigilance are and how they should be solved. This book stems from thoughts and ideas discussed in a series of meetings of the International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP), where concerns were raised that the current pharmacovigilance system is not delivering optimally to improve therapeutics in clinical practice. Pharmacovigilance of the future must be an active and integral part of health care delivery, and focus more on science and practices that support health professionals and patients in day-to-day care situations. To achieve this, a dynamic and sustainable development of vigilance must take precedence over the current excessive preoccupations with data processing and regulations; all aspects of medicines use and their effects need to be considered; and all stakeholders must be involved and engaged in an open and constructive debate. The work is essential reading for anyone who has an interest in safer use of medicines. It is intended to be equally challenging and rewarding, and sets out to stimulate a continuous debate on how pharmacovigilance can better meet the needs of health professionals and patients to achieve the aim of wise therapeutic decision making

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate socio-economic inequalities in the use, accessibility and satisfaction with health services amongst 60-84 year old people from seven European urban communities. Design/methodology/approach Data for this study were collected in 2009. The target population was people aged 60-84 years from Stuttgart (Germany), Athens (Greece), Ancona (Italy), Kaunas (Lithuania), Porto (Portugal), Granada (Spain) and Stockholm (Sweden). The total sample comprised 4,467 respondents with a mean response rate across these countries of 45.2 per cent. Findings The study demonstrated that the majority of respondents had contact with a health care provider within the last 12 months. The highest percentages were reported by respondents from Spain (97.8 per cent) and Portugal (97.7 per cent). The results suggest that 13.0 per cent of respondents had refrained from seeking care services. The highest rates were amongst seniors from Lithuania (24.0 per cent), Germany (16.2 per cent) and Portugal (15.4 per cent). Logistic regression suggests that seniors who refrained from seeking health care was statistically significant associated with those with higher levels of education (odds ratios (OR)=1.21; 95 per cent confidence intervals (CI)=1.01-1.25) and financial strain (OR=1.26; 95 per cent CI=1.16-1.37). Furthermore, the majority of respondents were satisfied with health care services. Originality/value The findings from the "Elder Abuse: a multinational prevalence survey" study indicate the existence of significant variations in use, accessibility and satisfaction with health services by country and for socio-economic factors related to organizing and financing of care systems.

The Patient-Reported Outcomes Safety Event Reporting (PROSPER) Consortium was convened to improve safety reporting by better incorporating the perspective of the patient. PROSPER comprises industry, regulatory authority, academic, private sector and patient representatives who are interested in the area of patient-reported outcomes of adverse events (PRO-AEs). It has developed guidance on PRO-AE data, including the benefits of wider use and approaches for data capture and analysis. Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) encompass the full range of self-reporting, rather than only patient reports collected by clinicians using validated instruments. In recent years, PROs have become increasingly important across the spectrum of healthcare and life sciences. Patient-centred models of care are integrating shared decision making and PROs at the point of care; comparative effectiveness research seeks to include patients as participatory stakeholders; and industry is expanding its involvement with patients and patient groups as part of the drug development process and safety monitoring. Additionally, recent pharmacovigilance legislation from regulatory authorities in the EU and the USA calls for the inclusion of patient-reported information in benefit–risk assessment of pharmaceutical products. For patients, technological advancements have made it easier to be an active participant in one's healthcare. Simplified internet search capabilities, electronic and personal health records, digital mobile devices, and PRO-enabled patient online communities are just a few examples of tools that allow patients to gain increased knowledge about conditions, symptoms, treatment options and side effects. Despite these changes and increased attention on the perceived value of PROs, their full potential has yet to be realised in pharmacovigilance. Current safety reporting and risk assessment processes remain heavily dependent on healthcare professionals, though there are known limitations such as under-reporting and discordant perspectives ...