Pharmacovigilance Committee

Preamble: It is mandatory for every medical college in India to have a Pharmacovigilance committee, as per regulations of Medical Council of India, 2010. Therefore, the Pharmacovigilance committee of Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital is appointed.

Introduction: Pharmacovigilance is the science and activities relating to the detection, assessment, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problems. The Pharmacovigilance cell functions under the Department of Pharmacology, Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital, Budge Budge, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Broad Goal: To generate awareness about the need for identifying and reporting Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR), amongst all sections of healthcare providers (doctors, consultants, nurses, pharmacists, postgraduates, undergraduate students, service providers, etc.) of the Jagannath Gupta Institute of Medical Sciences & Hospital.

• To generate awareness about ADRs among healthcare providers and students.
• To pick up ADRs occurring in patients admitted to JIMSH and report the same to appropriate authorities.
• To carry out causality analysis of ADRs.
• To undertake scientific and research activities pertaining to ADRs.
• To make efforts to minimize the chances of ADR and thereby make drug therapy safer and rational.
• To take up activities to strengthen the ongoing National Pharmacovigilance Programme (PvPI).

• Chairman: Chairs and conducts all committee meetings and functions as the administrative head of the committee.
• Convener: Responsible for arranging meetings and conducting activities with the assistance of the Member Secretary. Chairs meetings in the absence of the Chairman.
• Member Secretary: Plays the pivotal operational role and undertakes the following responsibilities:

  • Prepare agenda of meetings and dispatch them in advance to members.
  • Arrange meetings, record minutes, circulate, and document proceedings.
  • Organize institutional awareness generation programmes.
  • Coordinate clinical ADR collection and reporting to appropriate regulatory authorities.
  • Perform structured causality assessments on reported cases.
  • Coordinate research activities and raise a dedicated reference library.
  • Carry out any other tasks assigned by the committee.
• Members: Act as subject experts and mentors for junior faculty, resident doctors, and students in ADR identification and reporting.

The Pharmacovigilance Committee is constituted of the following members: