IGuard

Infobox_Company
company_name = iGuard Inc
company_
company_type = Private
foundation = 2007
location = Princeton, New Jersey, USA
key_people = Hugo Stephenson, CEO Elisa Cascade, Head Operations Bob Winslow, Head Medical Information
industry =
products = Safety research and analysis
revenue =
num_employees =
homepage = [http://www.iGuard.org www.iGuard.ORG]
footnotes =

iGuard is the holding company for iGuard.ORG which prospectively monitors the safety of prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines and healthcare supplements in over 225,000 patients. The company also rates the safety of different drugs using a standardized ratings scale, [cite news |title='Traffic-light' medicine risk website to launch |publisher=The Guardian |date=2007-10-02 |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/oct/02/7] and has received critical support from patient advocacy groups concerned by the large number of patients affected by serious, preventable adverse drug reactions.Fact|date=November 2007

iGuard was founded in 2007 by Hugo Stephenson, MD. It is a subsidiary of Quintiles Transnational, a multinational contract research organization. [ [http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/WebsWeLike/2007/7-10-09-iGuard.htm iGuard Drug Safety Alert is Newest Reason Senior Citizens, Caregivers Must Use Web] SeniorJournal.com, 9 October 2007, accessed 19 November 2007.]

iGuard ratings

iGuard uses a five color rating scale similar to that used by the United States Homeland Security Advisory System to communicate the risk of developing serious side effects. The risk ratings are based on the drug's approved label and research available in major journals. iGuard publishes general ratings for a wide range of drugs and supplements, and produces personalized ratings that take into account a patient's health profile and interactions between their drugs.

; iGuard Risk Ratings [ [http://www.iguard.org/help/system iGuard Drug Interactions, Risk Ratings and Safety Alerts ] ]
*"High Risk" (Red): Requires careful consideration of risk versus benefit with your doctor. e.g. Adriamycin, Vincristine

*"Elevated" (Orange): Create a personal risk reduction plan with your doctor e.g. Prednisone, Warfarin, Insulin

*"Guarded" (Yellow): Reserved for new products, be on the lookout for safety events e.g. Januvia, Yaz

*"General" (Blue): Use under the normal care of your doctor e.g. Lipitor, Lopressor

*"Low" (Green): Suitable for widespread use e.g. Vitamin C, Caltrate

Criticism

Qualitative risk rating systems such as that used by iGuard have been criticized for potentially simplifying risk assessment requirements used to inform risk management decisions.Citation
last = Cox
first = Tony
author-link =
last2 = Babayev
first2 = Djangir
author2-link =
title = Some Limitations of Qualitative Risk Rating Systems
newspaper = Risk Analysis
pages =
year = 2005
date= 2005-06-01
url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2005.00615.x?cookieSet=1&journalCode=risk]

Additionally, the colors are misordered.Fact|date=November 2007 Using the colors of the rainbow as a guide, the order should be: red, orange, yellow, green, "then" blue. Because Americans have traditionally used "green" to mean "safe to proceed" (e.g. in traffic signaling) green was designated the lowest level. In the alternative, green-yellow could have been used instead of blue.Fact|date=November 2007

References

ee also

*Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program
*COSTART - Coding Symbols for a Thesaurus of Adverse Reaction Terms
*Pharmacovigilance
*Yellow Card Scheme (UK)

External links

* [http://www.iGuard.org iGuard]
* [http://pharmamkting.blogspot.com/2007/09/innovative-system-for-communicating.html An Innovative System for Communicating Drug Risks to Patients]