Drug monitoring

Medicinal products are intended to alleviate, prevent or help recognize diseases. Medicinal products can also be harmful to health, e.g. if they are not used correctly, if side effects occur, but also if they are defective. It is therefore important for the authorities to continuously monitor medicinal products from their manufacture to their disposal.

The Liechtenstein market is integrated into Swissmedic's Swiss monitoring network as part of the customs treaty. The side effects of medicinal products that are authorized in Liechtenstein under the Customs Treaty must be reported to the responsible regional pharmacovigilance center. Further information on the reporting system in Switzerland can be found here.

Adverse reactions to medicinal products manufactured in accordance with Art. 4 of the Therapeutic Products Act, LR 812.102 must be reported to the Office of Public Health. These reports can be submitted using either the Austrian or the Swiss reporting form.

Medicinal products authorized in the EEA are recorded in the European monitoring system. Adverse reactions and quality defects of medicinal products authorized within the scope of the agreement with Austria must be reported to the Office of Public Health. These reports can be submitted using either the Austrian or the Swiss reporting form. In the EEA, all reports of adverse reactions that are made after authorization, but also in clinical trials in the EEA, are recorded in a common European database. In addition, the European Medicines Agency publishes a list of medicinal products that are additionally monitored.

Important information on the safety of therapeutic products can be found under "Swissmedic" (customs agreement) and on the website of the European Medicines Agency and the Austrian Federal Office for Safety and Health.

Some EEA medicinal products are subject to additional monitoring. They are marked with a black triangle. The black triangle means that this EEA medicinal product is subject to even stricter monitoring than other medicinal products. Patients should report any suspicion of an adverse reaction when using such a medicinal product to their doctor or to the public health department. The list of these EEA medicinal products can be found here.

Who reports?

Anyone who uses or dispenses medicinal products on a professional basis (pharmacists, chemists, doctors, naturopaths) is obliged to report adverse drug reactions or quality defects if they discover them in Liechtenstein.

Patients are also free to report adverse effects of drug therapy. Reporting forms can be downloaded here. Patient reports must be sent to the Office of Public Health. Consultation with the family doctor or a joint report has the advantage that precise information on relevant test results can be provided, but it is not mandatory.

Reported supply difficulties, out-of-stock:

Austria: BASG

Switzerland: Swissmedic and BWL. For veterinary medicinal products Swissmedic veterinary medicinal products