Background Hospital pharmacovigilance (PV) has always shown an irregular trend. High increases in the use of adverse drug reactions (ADR) reporting are often recorded during the times in which ad hoc surveillance projects are also carried out. There are several reasons: the lack of knowledge about the role of the PV, the underestimation of the iatrogenic illnesses, job organisation problems and the perception of PV as a merely bureaucratic procedure.

Purpose The purpose of the survey was to suggest the use of some practical and quick tools that could help the staff of the hospital reporting the ADRs in a continuous and spontaneous way, without interfering in the ordinary management of the patients.

Material and methods The entire hospital staff was asked to take part in a survey sent by company e-mail. The survey consisted of 15 questions, which the participants could answer online anonymously. The first part of the questionnaire concerned the meaning of ADR, while the second one examined useful tools for the encouragement of the surveillance. The results were analysed through Microsoft Excel and LimeSurvey.

Results Two-thousand, six-hundred and seventy-two surveys were collected, with a participation rate of 27.3%. The obtained data highlighted that only 31.23% of the participants knew the correct meaning of ADR: 69.32% of them had never reported an ADR.

The chance of notifying directly the ADRs to the Qualified Person Responsible for Pharmacovigilance (QPPV) by putting a tick in the software for the patients’ management was evaluated positively by the participants. Moreover, 69.73% of the interviewed would find the presence of the QPPV inside the ward useful.

Conclusion The analysis of the results shows that the promotion of PV knowledge is strongly suggested. Supporting the wards in the comprehension of the reporting procedures is considered rather important.

Furthermore, it is recommended to add a checkbox for the ADRs in the software for the patients’ management to promote the use of such an activity in the long term. In addition, the QPPV should have access to medical reports and useful data so that thorough and high-standard ADR reports could be provided.

References and/or acknowledgements Aliberti F, Ciociano N, Grisi L, et al. Hospital pharmacists can improve pharmacovigilance in the emergency room. EJHP: Sci Pract 2013;20:A30. https://ejhp.bmj.com/content/20/Suppl_1/A30.2

No conflict of interest.