Grant: Operating Grant

Prescription drugs play a rapidly expanding and important role in the prevention and treatment of common health problems. Over 60% of adult Canadians have used at least one prescription drug in the past 6 months, and six or more drugs are taken by 18% of the older population. While there are considerable benefits from modern drug therapy, the frequent occurrence of adverse drug-related events and the uncertainty about effects of drugs after they enter the market have highlighted fundamental shortcomings in the ability to actively monitor drugs after their approval. Electronic health records, computerized prescribing and automated patient follow-up systems are health information technologies that are being increasingly used to improve the quality of care around the world. These new health information technologies provide an unprecedented opportunity to develop an active surveillance system that will monitor and provide patients and physicians with real-time feedback on the comparative safety and effectiveness of new drugs. Conducting active surveillance on a collaborative international scale will provide more rapid information about drug safety and effectiveness from users around the world as well as permit more personalized risk/benefit analysis for subgroups where drugs may have a different risk/benefit profile. The purpose of this project is to develop state-of-the-art methods of i) monitoring, and ii) analyzing the comparative risk and benefit of new drug therapies, in real-time, through an international prospective surveillance system, and iii) communicating this information to clinicians to inform treatment decision-making at the point-of-care.