A Drug Safety Physician also known as a Medical Reviewer is a medical expert with tasks to evaluate and assess the safety and effectiveness of medications, or any other pharmaceutical product both during clinical trials and after they are approved for public use. Pharmaceutical companies, contract research organisations, and Life Sciences Consulting & firms usually employ Drug Safety Physicians. It is the perfect calling for graduates who are not interested in patient care.
What is a Drug Safety Physician/ Medical Reviewer?
As a Drug Safety Physician, one of your responsibilities is to assess the safety of pharmaceutical drugs or any other pharmaceutical product once they’re on the market. Drug Safety Physicians work by evaluating and preventing adverse reactions in patients. They are responsible for ensuring that medications don’t cause any side effects on patients by following standardised guidelines from the healthcare system and regulatory bodies and providing their findings back to the Pharmacovigilance department.
Drug Safety Physicians also work with pharmaceutical companies to develop and implement risk management plans that minimize risks associated with their products.
Roles and Responsibilities of Drug Safety Physicians
1. Evaluation of Clinical Trials Safety
Any new drug, medical device or treatment therapies undergo several phases of clinical trials before they can be approved for use. Drug Safety Physicians are heavily involved in the safety evaluation of these trials. Their responsibilities include:
- Reviewing the data from clinical trials
- Assessing the risks of the new pharmaceutical product
- Advising on trial design.
- By actively monitoring the safety of drugs in the clinical trial phase, Drug Safety Physicians help to ensure that dangerous side effects are identified early, allowing for timely intervention.
2. Post-Market Surveillance
Once a drug has been approved and released to the public, it becomes vital to monitor the side effects or the performance of the product. Drug Safety Physicians are involved in pharmacovigilance, which refers to the ongoing monitoring of drugs post-market. Their tasks include:
- Drug Safety Physician has to precisely report adverse events of the product
- Evaluate the long-term safety of the product
- Risk management and mitigation
3. Signal Detection and Risk Assessment
A paramount responsibility of a Drug Safety Physician is to monitor and detect safety signal indications, if a drug may be causing harm to a greater extent than anticipated in the trials.
- Signal detection is the most crucial part of the responsibility of a Drug Safety Physician.
- Risk assessment
- Collaboration and great communication with regulatory bodies are important to avoid any possible mistakes.
4. Regulatory Compliance and Reporting
Drug Safety Physicians have to ensure that pharmaceutical companies and CROs comply with global regulatory requirements related to drug safety.
- Drug Safety Physicians have to Prepare precise safety reports
- Ensuring compliance with Regulatory standards
- Communicating with regulators and keeping them updated
Knowledge and Education for Drug Safety Physician/ Medical Reviewer.
To become a Drug Safety Physician or Medical Reviewer, an individual needs to earn a pharmacy degree, a bachelor’s degree in science, or be a medical graduate and an in-depth knowledge of medicine and medical terminologies. As the Pharmaceutical industry is booming, innovations and improvements in advanced medical technology have led to an increase in the vast number of career opportunities in this field and many graduates are considering their careers in this area.
Some Skills Required to Become a Drug Safety Physician
- Analytical and problem-solving skills
- Good communication skills
- Experience with computer applications
- Excellent organizational and prioritization skills
- Work collaboratively and effectively in a team
- In-depth knowledge of medical terminologies
- Able to perform database/literature searches
- Excellent interpersonal skills, with a proven track record of communicating well in a variety of situations
- Client-focused approach to work
- Experience with computer applications
How to Start a Career Drug Safety Physician?
Entering the pharmaceutical industry and starting a career in a non-clinical field as a Drug Safety Physician can be overwhelming and challenging, but here is where CareerInPharma steps in. CareerInPharma is the Best training institute for Clinical Research. We focus on training our students with industry-oriented knowledge and skills that help them make a seamless entry into the pharmaceutical industry with confidence. Here is what we offer in our Diploma in Drug Safety Physician Course.
Diploma in Drug Safety Physician Course: This Drug Safety Physician course trains students on domain knowledge of clinical drug safety and prepares them for the Drug Safety Physician job role in just three months through our training and support from our industry expert trainers and mentors.
Some Key Highlights of the Diploma in Drug Safety Physician Course
- Industry Oriented syllabus
- Free Career Counselling
- Mentors who are Industry Experts
- Flexible learning options (online lectures)
- LinkedIn and Naukri.com profiles optimization by experts
- ATS Resume curated by experts
- 100% Placement Assistance
- Collaboration with well-known MNC
- The hiring of CareerInPharma Alumni
The Impact of Drug Safety Physicians on Healthcare Industry
Drug Safety Physicians play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of the healthcare system. By ensuring the safety of the drugs and other pharmaceutical products for public use, they protect patients from unnecessary harm and help maintain the public’s trust in the pharmaceutical industry. Drug Safety Physician’s work extends far beyond the confines of clinical trials. It’s a continuous process that spans the entire lifecycle of a drug, helping to ensure that medicines deliver their intended benefits without causing unforeseen adverse effects.
Moreover, their efforts contribute to the broader goal of advancing medical science and technology. By identifying risks and working to mitigate them, Drug Safety Physicians contribute to improving the overall safety standards of the pharmaceutical industry, which ultimately benefits global health.
Overview
The role of a Drug Safety Physician is both dynamic and important. From overseeing clinical trial safety to managing post-market risks and ensuring regulatory compliance, these professionals are the guardians of public health in the world of pharmaceuticals. The vigilance of Drug Safety Physician expertise and dedication to drug safety help make sure that medications and medical devices remain effective and safe and provide lasting benefits to patients around the world. Without Drug safety physicians, Pharmacovigilance would not be possible and patients’ safety could be at risk.
At Career in Pharma, we provide extensive training and education designed to help individuals jump-start their careers in clinical research and Pharmacovigilance! So if you want to kick start your career and achieve your dream job, enroll in CareerInPharma DIploma in Drug Safety Physician Now.
FAQs about Roles and Responsibilities of Drug Safety Physician
1. What is the difference between a Drug Safety Physician and a Medical reviewer?
There is no difference between drug safety Physicians and Medical reviewers as these are just different names for the same designation used in different companies.
2. What is the salary of a Drug Safety Physician in India?
Drug Safety Physicians in India range between 5.5 LPA to 18.5 LPA for less than 1 year of experience to 5 years of experience.
3. What is the difference between drug safety and Pharmacovigilance?
Pharmacovigilance brings in other aspects of managing a drug’s risk profile, so it’s not just about the benefits, but also about the risks.
Drug safety in clinical trials, however, remains its regulatory segment, though both clinical and commercial teams may work together, depending on the pharma company.
