Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI) chairman Aru Wisaksono Sudoyo said it was important to boost awareness of patients, particularly cancer patients, to report adverse events of drugs they have consumed to their doctors.

 

“Patients should understand and be able to manage side effects of drugs, such as nausea, dizziness, lip crack and tiredness that can occur in cancer treatment. Therefore, they are advised to first learn treatment they will undergo and side effects that may occur, after which they can adopt lifestyle changes and eating pattern to minimize the side effects of their cancer treatment,” Aru said during a webinar held by YKI and Bayer Indonesia on Thursday to commemorate the 2020 Patient Safety Day, which falls on Sept. 17

 

Based on the patients’ reports, doctors can provide advice on certain medical treatment needed, including on whether they should change medicines they need to take, said the oncologist-hematologist.

 

Meanwhile, chairman of YKI Central Java chapter, Eko Adhi Pangarsa, said patients and their families, as well as their caregivers, could also request information from the doctors on how to manage the side effects.

 

According to Globocan 2018 data, the number of new cancer cases in Indonesia reached 348,809, with 207,210 deaths. Meanwhile, the number of prevalent cases (5-year) reached 775,120.

 

Data from 2018 Basic Health Survey (Riskesdas) shows the prevalence of cancer based on doctor diagnosis stands at 1.8 nationwide, up from 1.4 in 2013. Riskesdas also reveals only few provinces have shown a decline in the number of new cancer cases during the period of 2013-2018 – most provinces show a growing trend of cancer.

 

Cancer is a chronic illness that it may take several years for patients to get it develop to advanced stage and end up dying. Through the years, patients need to routinely take their medicines, starting from cancer supportive medicines, drugs to treat the disease itself as well as remedies to maintain their health.

 

“But actually, it’s not just a matter of swallowing pills. With the rise of our concern on patient safety principles, it’s time for patients to be able to play a greater and more active role to prevent errors in their medical treatment,” Aru said.

 

Patients, for instance, should be able to detect by themselves side effects of medicines they consume because this is only the patients that can feel side effects to medication, he added.

 

With the growing complexity of health problems nowadays, safety culture should be put on the center of the healthcare system. Doctors and patients should work together to ensure any medical treatment will result in a good outcome.

 

“People could no longer adopt the ‘traditional’ one-way style of communications, in which physicians have often been placed as one and only most trusted counselors, because actually, patient reports can help healthcare providers determine the best medication for them,” Aru said.

 

The 2007 National Patient Safety Goals issued by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has required health institutions to push forward patients’ involvement in patient safety strategies.

 

In a conference in Geneva in 2018, the World Health Organization, together with the Union for International Cancer Control (IUCC), declared that all people have the right to safe and competent cancer treatment. This comprises four elements: Improved cancer data for public health use, adequate access to early detection and diagnosis, timely and accurate treatment, and appropriate supportive and palliative care.   

 

International Society of Pharmacovigilance (ISoP) Indonesia chairman Jarir At Thobari said the role of community to actively participate in monitoring and reporting side effects of consumed drugs was very crucial.

 

“Reporting will certainly help determine follow-up actions on the use of related drugs,” he said.

 

As an independent scientific organization, ISoP Indonesia is committed to advance the pharmacovigilance system in the country, Jarir said. One way to do so is by continuously familiarizing the importance of the reporting of drug side effects to the public, pharmaceutical industry and health professionals, he added.

 

During the webinar, Bayer Indonesia president director Angel Michael Evangelista said the company’s pharmacovigilance team had been working to detect the patterns of side effects of drugs consumed by patients. One of the key steps in ensuring early detection of safety signal is through an adverse events reporting.

 

“To provide access in reporting our company’s drug adverse events, we provide SafeTrack that is accessible online,” Evangelista said.