To introduce a technology-enabled platform through the Patients Union App, empowering patients to report adverse drug reactions to the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India
International Patients’ Union (IPU), an SBU of Digital Health Associates has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC).
A primary objective of this collaboration is to introduce a technology-enabled platform through the Patients Union App, empowering patients to contribute their perspectives on Adverse Drug Reporting. With access to the Medicines Side Effects Reporting Form, patients can seamlessly report adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI).
Furthermore, IPU and IPC will collaborate on organising awareness campaigns, workshops, and interactive sessions to educate the public about ADR reporting. By capturing unfiltered patient voices, this partnership aims to raise awareness among consumers and patients regarding the critical importance of Adverse Drug Reporting.
The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) through the Government of India’s flagship drug safety monitoring programme, the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India, collects, collates, and analyses drug-related adverse events and sends recommendations to CDSCO for taking appropriate regulatory actions.
The International Patients’ Union was established with the mission of connecting patients to a tech-enabled platform by Dr. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, who has been globally acclaimed for his work in healthcare transformation and is the former advisor to the Health Minister, Government of India. IPU aims to help patients find solutions to their problems and make healthcare accessible, affordable, accountable, patient-driven, and outcome-driven.
The partnership between IPC and IPU is a significant step towards introducing patient-reported outcomes for the first time in the country, revolutionising the healthcare sector. By establishing transparency, accountability, and trust between patients and healthcare providers, this association addresses a longstanding need in the healthcare ecosystem through this additional step.
Commenting on this association Dr. Rajendra Pratap Gupta, founder of the International Patients’ Union said, that this is for the first time, that the patients can report directly through an mobile app. This marks the beginning of a tech-enabled era where patients don’t get the voice but the power to share and drive the change they want. This is also the beginning of a patient-centric and patient-led healthcare system.
Dr. Rajeev Raghuvanshi, Secretary-cum-Scientific Director, IPC and Drugs Controller General of India, expressed that, “This is a much-needed tie-up, and the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission through this partnership will give consumers an access to an additional platform where they can report ADRs. This will go a long way in patient-centric care system. We hope to leverage this partnership to sensitise consumers of medicines and also, to address the issue
of AMR in the times to come. At the end, we have to be where the consumers are, and listen to them, and International Patients’ Union seems to be that national platform for patients.”
International Patients’ Union is hosting its annual conference this year in Delhi at the PHD Chambers Auditorium on April 6, where they are likely to launch more path breaking initiatives to transform healthcare, bringing the patients to the centre-stage.