Patient Safety / India Leaps in Medicine Safety with NFI 7th Edition, Biovigilance and New Apps

New Delhi, Sep 21: In a major push to strengthen patient safety and medicine monitoring, the Central government unveiled the 7th Edition of the National Formulary of India (NFI) alongside the ADR‑PvPI 2.0 mobile app for iOS users, marking the start of new digital and pharmacovigilance initiatives during the 6th National Pharmacovigilance Week organised by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC).

Union Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilisers Anupriya Patel unveiled several new initiatives aimed at strengthening patient safety and pharmacovigilance.

She also released a guidance document for hospitals on Safety Monitoring and Reporting of Medical Device‑Related Adverse Events.

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The National Pharmacovigilance Week, observed from 17–23 September 2026, brought together senior officials, regulators, healthcare professionals, academicians, and researchers committed to medicine safety and patient care. Patel announced that the Biovigilance Programme of India has been approved, enabling IPC to enhance reporting, assessment, monitoring, and prevention of adverse events linked to medicines and biological products used in organ and tissue transplantation.

The 7th Edition of the NFI has been made available digitally through NFI Online. Patel emphasised that rational use of medicines and continuous safety monitoring are integral to public health, stating, “Every patient must receive the right medicine, of assured quality.”

Highlighting India’s growing capacity, she noted that the country has built a strong indigenous ecosystem capable of generating, collecting, and analysing medicine‑safety data nationwide. She described this as a key dimension of Atmanirbhar Bharat in healthcare, allowing India to produce its own scientific evidence for safe and effective medicine use.

Patel pointed out that India has risen from the 123rd position during 2009–2014 to 8th globally in contributions to the WHO patient safety database. She said this transition reflects India’s strengthened national capacity in pharmacovigilance.

Digital initiatives such as NFI Online, IP Online, ADR‑PvPI 2.0 App, and the Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring System (ADRMS) are making medicine information and adverse‑event reporting more accessible, transparent, and responsive.

(IANS)