Medicine Safety Timeline

Medicine safety: An ongoing process

Patient safety is a paramount concern throughout the life of a medicine—and pharmaceutical companies have ethical and regulatory responsibilities to monitor the safety of the medicines they sell for as long as they are used by patients anywhere in the world.

Explore this section to view how safety is integrated into every phase of testing and development, and how efforts to manage potential safety issues in approved medicines continue for many years.

An important note for patients

Please note that all are welcome to explore the medicine safety timeline. However, this section is intended primarily for health care professionals.

> Next:  Timeline: Drug Development Overview

Medicine Safety Education Home

Partnering to Protect Patients

All medicines have benefits and risks—and individual patients react to medicines differently. That is why patients must work with their doctors to carefully weigh the benefits of a medicine against its risks for their individual situation—and make the choice that's right for them.

To help protect patients, an extensive network is in place to identify and manage possible safety concerns associated with the medicines they take.

Click on the connection between any two of the images below to see how that partnership works as part of the larger network.

An important note for patients

Please note that all are welcome to explore this section. However, some of the information provided is intended primarily for health care professionals.

Next:  >  Regulatory Agencies & the Pharmaceutical Industry

Medicine Safety Education Home

Your Role in Medicine Safety

When it comes to taking medicine, you play an important role in ensuring your safety—and the safety of those you care for. By partnering with health professionals involved in your care, you can help them determine which medicines are most appropriate for you or your dependents. Partnering also helps your health care professionals teach you how to take these medicines safely.

In this section, you'll learn how to reduce your risks of medication safety problems at key points in your care:

• At your doctor's visit
• When you fill your prescription
• When you take your medicine
• After you take your medicine

Who plays a role in medicine safety?

• Pharmaceutical companies that develop, test, and produce medicines
• Regulatory agencies that approve the use of medicines—like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medicines Agency (EMA)
• Health care professionals who prescribe medicines
• Pharmacists who dispense and provide counsel regarding your medicine
• Patients and caregivers who take medicines or give medicines to those they care for

What is involved in approving a medicine?

All medicines have benefits as well as risks. Before any new medicine is approved by regulatory agencies such as the EMA or the FDA, it undergoes extensive testing—usually in several thousand people. The goal of this testing is to determine how safe and effective the medicine is—and to show that its benefits outweigh the known risks. A medicine is approved for use by appropriate patients only when its benefits have been adequately shown to outweigh the risks for its intended use in those patients.

> Next:  Partnering With Your Health Care Professional

Medicine Safety Education Home