Innovative Mobile App Enhances Drug Safety Reporting in Uganda, Study Shows

A recent groundbreaking study published in The Lancet Global Health demonstrates that the use of a mobile application called Med Safety significantly improves the reporting of suspected adverse drug reactions (ADRs) among healthcare workers in Uganda. The trial involved over 2,400 healthcare professionals across 367 health facilities and marked the largest of its kind in the region. Researchers found that health workers utilizing the app reported 73% more ADRs overall, with nearly double the reports related to the HIV medication dolutegravir, compared to traditional reporting methods. This increase includes reports of both serious and less severe side effects, which is crucial for gaining a comprehensive understanding of medication safety. The study highlights the potential of digital pharmacovigilance tools to address long-standing under-reporting issues in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where building robust drug safety systems has been challenging. Dr. Ronald Kiguba, the study’s chief investigator, emphasized that scaling up such digital tools could revolutionize drug safety monitoring, enabling countries to make data-driven regulatory decisions and improve patient outcomes. Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed from the University of Liverpool echoed this view, noting that the smartphone app significantly enhanced ADR reporting rates—an essential step toward strengthening pharmacovigilance systems globally. Launched in Uganda in 2020, Med Safety was developed under the European Innovative Medicines Initiative, WEB-RADR, and has been adopted in multiple countries. This large-scale trial provides robust evidence that integrating digital tools into pharmacovigilance systems in LMICs can lead to meaningful improvements in medication safety data collection and patient care.