Pharmacovigilance is the science of detecting, evaluating, and preventing adverse effects of drugs. Advancements in data analytics have the potential to significantly improve pharmacovigilance by enabling more efficient and effective monitoring of drug safety.
One way that advanced data analytics can be used in pharmacovigilance is through the use of natural language processing (NLP) techniques to extract information from medical literature and electronic health records. This can help to identify potential safety concerns more quickly and accurately, as well as to identify patient subgroups who may be at greater risk of adverse effects.
Another area where advanced data analytics can be applied is in the analysis of large-scale observational data sources, such as claims databases and registry data. These types of data can provide valuable insights into real-world drug utilization patterns and the potential safety risks associated with different drugs.
In addition, machine learning techniques can be used to identify patterns in drug safety data that may not be immediately apparent to human analysts. This can help to identify potential safety concerns more quickly and accurately, as well as to identify patient subgroups who may be at greater risk of adverse effects.
Overall, the use of advanced data analytics in pharmacovigilance has the potential to significantly improve the safety of drugs and to protect the health of patients. Further research is needed to fully understand the potential of these techniques and to develop best practices for their use in pharmacovigilance.
Hany Higazy Khalil is a researcher and pharmacist with, BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences and MSc in Health Regulatory Affairs his MSc thesis is on Pharmacovigilance Shift From a Volume-based to a Value-based Focus Adopting Advanced Data Analytics. Working on his MSc in Health Data Analytics towards Ph.D. in Pharmacovigilance Artificial Intelligence.
Article by: Hany Higazy Khalil January 19, 2023