Pharmacovigilance system in Saudi Arabia

Pharmacovigilance plays an important role in ensuring that patients are receiving safe drugs. In Saudi Arabia, Saudi Food and Drug Authority, health institutions, marketing authorization holders and healthcare professional are involved in pharmacovigilance activities regardless of the level of the involvement. Although pharmacovigilance is well established in developed nations and it is considered a new concept in Saudi Arabia. It is a collective effort from various stakeholders to make pharmacovigilance successful toward promoting safe and effective use of medicines among the population. However, the practice of pharmacovigilance still needs more attention especially from marketing authorization holders and healthcare professionals. The aim of this review was to describe the current situation of pharmacovigilance in Saudi Arabia and the activities that have been conducted by the stakeholders. (C) 2016 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.