#MedSafetyWeek 2023: A global week to raise awareness of medicines safety

"Medsafetyweek" takes place from 6 to 12 November. Initiated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), this global campaign aims to raise public awareness of the safety and proper use of medicines.

Any medication we take has the potential to cause undesirable effects. That's why measures are in place to monitor their safety. Anyone (patient or healthcare professional) can report a suspected adverse reaction to the relevant authorities. The aim of safety monitoring is to obtain more information about known adverse reactions and to discover new ones. By reporting suspected medication-related adverse reactions, everyone plays a part in identifying medicine safety problems, allowing the necessary measures to be put in place to protect the public as effectively as possible.

How do I report adverse drug reactions?

Adverse reactions can be reported to the attending practitioner or pharmacist.

Patients can also report adverse reactions themselves by filling in the form available on the guichet.lu website: www.guichet.lu/pharmacovigilance

In Luxembourg, adverse reaction reports are managed by two institutions: the Pharmacy and Medicines Division of the Health Directorate and the regional pharmacovigilance centre in Nancy.

Luxembourg committed to assessing and preventing the risks associated with the use of medicines

As last year, the 2023 edition of Medsafetyweek will once again call on Luxembourg pharmacists to act as ambassadors for the safety of medicines. Communication materials will be available in pharmacies to raise public awareness of this issue. Patients and healthcare professionals alike are encouraged to play an active role in medicines safety by reporting any adverse drug reactions.

Each report helps to gather more information about the use of medicines. If a new risk arises after taking a medicine, the public authorities may decide to modify its use in order to ensure patient safety.

For more information about reporting adverse reactions, we recommend that you speak to your pharmacist or GP. Further information on the Health Department's pharmacovigilance work is available at www.sante.lu/dpm.

Press release by the Ministry of Health