PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY: A COMPLEMENT TO THERAPEUTIC TRIALS

Pharmacoepidemiology as a discipline goes beyond epidemiologic studies of drug-related topics.Some topics receiving much attention in Pharmacoepidemiology get little in traditional epidemiology,whereas others included in traditional epidemiology without question involve some controversy about whether they should be part of Pharmacoepidemiology. Much of this occurs because Pharmacoepidemiology is what may be called a bridge science bringing together pharmacology and pharmacy, clinical specialties, epidemiology, biostatistics, demography and social sciences.Epidemiology and clinical pharmacology are the two main bridgeheads. That a significant part of the early development of Pharmacoepidemiology was within a clinical pharmacology context wouldaccount for a somewhat different perspective from traditional epidemiology. The development of more and more potent but also increasingly expensive medicines will accentuate the need for skilledpractitioners of drug administration and drug safety, of which Pharmacoepidemiology is the basic science. Strategies in education have to be developed to meet such needs. One of the most challengingareas of research in Pharmacoepidemiology is to understand why individuals respond differently to drug therapy, both in terms of beneficial and adverse effects.