From the standpoint of a physician, drug safety data include not only information on adverse effects, but also information required to perform drug therapy safely. Drug safety data required by physicians include pharmacological data, name of the drug, history and physical data of patients, and an electronic or paper-based prescribing system at the clinic. Although most physicians are generally interested in drug safety data, a focus is not placed on adverse effects, given that they represent only a minor fraction of what is required for clinical practice and prescribing drugs. Moreover, Japanese physicians, who are busy with daily clinical practice, cannot find the time to extract essential information from what is supplied or to manage, make use, and report adverse events.
Many problems exist in the management of drug safety data, especially for adverse effects, including collection of data, database management, and feedback to physicians. In particular, current adverse effect reporting systems rely too heavily on physicians. In order to improve the sensitivity and management of drug safety data in Japan, it is expected that not only physicians but also pharmacists, paramedical staff, and patients will report drug safety data. One promising possibility is the establishment of a special division at all medical facilities that manages drug safety data. This concept is similar to that of the Governmental Consumer Agency (Shohisha-cho) launched in 2009. As an issue, drug safety traverses all of healthcare, so it may be necessary for the drug safety division to adopt not only specialists whose subspecialties are more focused, but also general physicians.