The science of pharmacovigilance – monitoring and evaluating drug safety issues and communicating them effectively – is a vital activity of worldwide significance in the safeguarding of patient welfare and public health. Its clinical, public health and economic importance has been demonstrated, but it needs to be better understood and appreciated by politicians, the media and the public.

Pharmacovigilance is evolving from being a largely reactive discipline, concentrating on the discovery of harm caused by marketed drugs, to a proactive study of their safety, effectiveness and associated risk factors in normal medical practice and use by patients.