Experience in The Development of a Postmarketing Surveillance Network: The Pharmacy Medication Monitoring Program

Objective:To describe the pilot and early implementation phase of a system for assembling and recruiting cohorts of patients taking selected prescription medications and prospectively monitoring them for new health events.Design:Prospective observational study, based on telephone interviews, of 1475 patients filling prescriptions for a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID). Patients were interviewed by telephone using trained interviewers at a central site. Hospitalizations and deaths were followed up and reviewed by an independent physician.Setting:Community setting in a region of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.Participants:All consenting patients filling new or repeat prescriptions for NSAIDs at participating pharmacies.Main Outcome Measures:The authors report on the development and assessment of systems for: (1) ongoing recruitment of patients through community pharmacies; (2) data transfer from pharmacies to the coordinating center; (3) surveying patients; (4) classifying, coding, and evaluating new h...