The Prevent Detect Respond framework is a public health focused approach promoted by the WHO to help countries, regulators, and health systems protect patients from SF medicines. It provides a structured way to strengthen medicine safety—from securing the supply chain, to identifying suspicious products, to responding effectively when incidents occur. Health service providers, especially pharmacists, prescribers, nurses, and community-level workers, play a central role in implementing this framework on the front line.
Prevention focuses on reducing opportunities for SF medicines to enter your health facility, pharmacy, or patient pathway. Strong systems, informed prescribing, and patient education greatly reduce risk.
Roles and Responsibilities for Healthcare Providers
Pharmacists & Supply Staff
- Source medicines only from licensed, reputable distributors.
- Maintain proper storage conditions and inventory systems, including batch and lot traceability.
- Ensure expired or unused products are removed promptly and disposed of safely so they cannot re-enter circulation.
- Use good dispensing practices: correct repackaging, reconstitution, and handling to avoid product deterioration.
- Counsel patients to avoid unauthorized online websites.
Prescribers (Physicians and Nurses)
- Prescribe according to national guidelines and formularies.
- Avoid prescribing medicines unavailable within your system or financially inaccessible, which may drive patients to unsafe sources.
- Ensure patients understand their treatment plan and the importance of obtaining medicines from authorized outlets.
All Healthcare Providers
- Reinforce awareness within your community about risks of counterfeit medicines, using clear, culturally sensitive communication.
- Communication must be clear, calm, and non-alarmist to avoid unnecessary fear, stigma, or loss of trust in the health system
Detection involves recognizing early warning signs of falsified or degraded products. While some SF medicines are difficult to identify and only laboratory testing and other sophisticated methods can accurately detect these medicines, frontline vigilance and visual checks are important steps in detection.
Roles and Responsibilities for Healthcare Providers
Perform Routine Visual Inspections:
- Inspect packaging, seals, labels, leaflets, batch numbers, and security features.
- Watch for changes in appearance, colour, odour, texture, or particulate matter—especially with injectables.
- Ensure products match reference samples when available.
Apply Standard Operating Procedures
- Use checklists for product reception, storage areas, emergency rooms, wards, and pharmacies.
- Document any discrepancies immediately.
Recognize Patient Level Red Flags
- Unexpected lack of clinical response, unusual side effects, or treatment failures may signal a compromised product.
- Ask patients about where they obtained the medicine, and guide them away from informal sources.
Cultivate a Culture of Safe Reporting
- Report suspected SFMPs promptly—staff should feel protected, not blamed, for raising concerns.
- Ensure reporting is consistent across public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Once a suspected SF medicine is identified, swift action reduces harm. Response includes risk assessment, communication, and stopping distribution and use.
Roles and Responsibilities for Healthcare Providers
Immediate Actions:
- Stop using and distributing the suspected product.
- Secure the product to prevent accidental use.
- Notify regulatory authorities (e.g., national regulatory authority), suppliers, and internal leadership.
Support Risk Assessment:
- Provide detailed information on batches, sources, patient exposure, adverse reactions, and where the product was stored or dispensed.
- Help assess the severity of clinical impact and the scale of distribution.
Assist with Follow-Up:
- Cooperate with recalls, patient notifications, and trace-back efforts.
- Document actions taken and monitor for additional cases.
- Share data with surveillance systems and pharmacovigilance authorities.
Maintain Professional and Transparent Communication:
- Communicate with patients and colleagues in a balanced, factual manner to avoid unnecessary alarm while ensuring safety.
Be alert to the issue:
SF cancer medicines are a real and growing threat.
Ensure your organization prioritizes medicine safety:
Advocate for strong procurement, storage, dispensing, documentation, and reporting systems.
Educate and listen to patients:
Patient stories about treatment failure, unusual packaging, or buying outside the system are critical clues.
Report suspected cases promptly:
Notify the appropriate regulatory authority and follow your facility’s escalation procedures.
Participate in data collection and surveillance:
Your reports help strengthen national monitoring, guide recalls, and prevent future harm.
Never compromise on sourcing:
Only obtain medical products through authorized suppliers, even during shortages.
Promote safe medicine-seeking behaviour:
Help patients understand where to obtain quality-assured medicines and the dangers of informal markets.