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Multiple Choice

What does pharmacovigilance refer to?

Pharmacovigilance is ongoing medicine safety monitoring. It focuses on detecting and assessing adverse drug reactions and other drug-related problems once a medicine is on the market, then taking actions to minimize risk. This includes collecting reports from clinicians and patients, analyzing data for safety signals, and making risk-management decisions such as updating labeling, issuing safety communications, or restricting use if needed. The emphasis on monitoring after approval matters because rare or long-term side effects may not appear in pre-approval trials. Packaging safety concerns the packaging itself; marketing surveillance isn’t a standard term for drug safety; and clinical trial recruitment deals with enrolling people in trials, not ongoing safety monitoring of marketed medicines.

Pharmacovigilance is ongoing medicine safety monitoring. It focuses on detecting and assessing adverse drug reactions and other drug-related problems once a medicine is on the market, then taking actions to minimize risk. This includes collecting reports from clinicians and patients, analyzing data for safety signals, and making risk-management decisions such as updating labeling, issuing safety communications, or restricting use if needed. The emphasis on monitoring after approval matters because rare or long-term side effects may not appear in pre-approval trials. Packaging safety concerns the packaging itself; marketing surveillance isn’t a standard term for drug safety; and clinical trial recruitment deals with enrolling people in trials, not ongoing safety monitoring of marketed medicines.