Clinical pharmacology and toxicology

A specialized pharmacological information and counseling service available to all health care professionals (physicians, pharmacists, and treating staff) and patients. The Drug Center is available for clinical questions, concerning for example:

• Reassessment of complex therapies (interactions, dose adjustment to organ function and/or age, contraindications or precautions, deprescribing, dosage or posologyor therapeutic schedule, therapeutic choice or indication, off-label use).
• Evaluation of adverse reactions.
• Rate interpretation (TDM).
• Pharmacodynamics or pharmacokinetics.
• Pharmacogenomics or pharmacogenetics.
• Use of drugs in pregnancy and lactation.

The Pharmacology and Clinical Toxicology of the Institute of Pharmacological Sciences of the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland is responsible for the management of problems concerning clinical aspects related to inpatient and outpatient pharmacotherapy in the EOC, as well as carrying out pharmacological and clinical toxicology consulting activities and ensuring territorial support by providing consultations for private citizens, Pharmacists, Specialists and Treating Physicians who request them.

The staff members possess advanced skills to provide specialized counseling; in particular, their areas of focus include Clinical Toxicology.

Diagnosis and treatment of patients with acute and/or chronic intoxication, is carried out:

• Through remote consultations (telephone, via e-mail).
• Through consultations in the Emergency Room (adult and pediatric) or on the inpatient wards of the EOC (in-patient, at the Civic Hospital and remotely on the other EOC Hospitals).
• Through outpatient evaluations. The outpatient clinic operates on Tuesday afternoons, but a visit date can be arranged at another time.

Under the Federal Therapeutic Products Act (FPA), all health care providers are required to report serious and/or unknown or insufficiently mentioned adverse drug reactions in the Swiss drug monograph.

Pharmacovigilance in Switzerland consists of the National Pharmacovigilance Center of the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products Swissmedic, based in Bern, and 5 regional Pharmacovigilance Centers located throughout the country (Zurich, Basel, Geneva, Lausanne and Lugano). Under the national pharmacovigilance system, notifications of adverse drug reactions are sent by healthcare professionals and patients directly to Swissmedic or to individual Regional Pharmacovigilance Centers.

The reports will be processed and evaluated, then forwarded to the World Health Organization's International Center for Drug Safety.