Adverse Drug Reaction Reports Received Through the Mobile App, VigiBIP®: A Comparison with Classical Methods of Reporting

Introduction The use of mobile apps is increasing in medicine. In pharmacovigilance, mobile apps may help to increase adverse drug reaction reporting and improve the communication of safety issues. The Toulouse University Pharmacovigilance Center has developed VigiBIP®, a free smartphone app available on Android and Apple stores, for reporting adverse drug reactions and requesting drug safety information. Objective The present study was performed to compare the main characteristics of spontaneous adverse drug reaction reports received through VigiBIP® with classical methods of reporting (phone, e-mail, fax, letter, website) during 25 months (2015–17). Methods Using the Chi squared test, we compared the type of reporter, adverse drug reaction seriousness, drugs involved and reported ADRs using VigiBIP® and classical methods of reporting Results A total of 4102 reports were received by the Toulouse University Pharmacovigilance Center, including 4.7% through VigiBip®. Patients’ reports were significantly more frequent with VigiBip® (6.7%) than with classical methods (3.4%) [p = 0.01]. Reported adverse drug reactions and involved drugs differed according to the method of reporting used. Conclusion Our study shows that a mobile app is an additional tool used in pharmacovigilance. Types of reporters and adverse drug reactions in VigiBIP were different to those seen in classical methods of reporting.