The Center for Medication Safety will employ a three-part approach to address the challenges posed by Adverse Drug Effects (ADEs). Two of these approaches will help us learn more about the complex nature of ADEs, and the third will enable us to apply this new knowledge to achieve a higher level of patient care.

The Center for Medication Safety will consist of three coordinated units:

1. Pharmacoepidemiologic and Pharmacoeconomics Research Unit
2. The Pharmacogenomics Research Unit
3. The Education and Outreach Unit

The Pharmacoepidemiologic and Pharmacoeconomic Research Unit conducts research to identify ADEs that occur through the use of prescription and non-prescription drugs and supplements, individually or in combination, particularly in at-risk populations such as seniors and children. This unit also conducts research on the morbidity, mortality and economic costs associated with ADEs. The unit’s objective is to build a database and profile of those drugs known to trigger adverse reactions. Another objective of the unit will be to design and investigate systems and approaches to reduce ADEs.

The Pharmacogenomics Research Unit conducts research to identify mechanisms of ADEs, particularly in at-risk populations such as seniors and children. The unit’s goal is to develop a better understanding of how and why certain individuals or population groups respond to drugs the way they do. Once we understand the genetic basis of certain drug responses, we will be in a stronger position to predict the safety, toxicity and efficacy of drugs and prevent ADEs.

The Education and Outreach Unit, through The Doris Levkoff Meddin Medication Safety Education Program, disseminates current and emerging knowledge about Adverse Drug Effect (ADEs) to healthcare professionals and the general public, thus preventing their occurrence and increasing drug safety competency. The unit will utilize two new programs to reach those populations most at risk of experiencing an ADE - children and seniors. Also, this unit will implement new approaches to preventing ADEs as well as build upon current efforts to prevent and manage poisoning.

• The first program will focus on an underserved, low-income population through the education of seniors and expectant and new parents in various locations throughout South Carolina. On a pre-determined basis, pharmacists from the South Carolina College of Pharmacy and its partners will visit these areas to educate seniors and new or expectant parents on such issues as safe drug use, the risks of borrowing medications, the importance of correct dosage and where to find information about specific medications.

• The second program will focus on healthcare providers. Faculty of the South Carolina College of Pharmacy will provide training to physicians, pharmacists, nurses and students on medication safety and establish collaborative working relationships with community physicians, pharmacists and nurses in underserved areas. Discussions and workshops will focus on senior and pediatric drug therapy related issues like  medication management, prevention of dosing errors, effects of growth and development on drug disposition and poison prevention.  

Through these three units, the Center for Medication Safety will be in a prime position to generate new knowledge about the little understood field of adverse drug effects and, more importantly, disseminate this information to the populations and providers most in need, while decreasing health care costs and increasing public health and safety. Moreover, through our collaborations with healthcare partners in the Midlands (the University of South Carolina and Palmetto Health) and the Upstate (Greenville Hospital System and Spartanburg Regional Medical Center), the Center for Medication Safety has the potential to create a culture of medication safety throughout the entire state of South Carolina.