WHO Key Dates & Establishments

1968 WHO Programme established. International ADR terminology and drug dictionary
1969 Definition of ADR
1978 Operations transferred to the UMC; setting-up of relational ADR database. Regular WHO Programme member meetings
1981 Computerised version of WHO Drug Dictionary available to all
1982 ATC classification coding of all medicinal products
1985 International expert review panel created
1991 On-line WHO database search programme available to national centres
1991 Definitions of adverse event, side effect and causality assessment terms
1993 Windows-based client server program for online database searches
1993 Regular training and educational activities
1994 Methodology for use of denominator data for calculation of ADR reporting rates
1997 Knowledge-detection tool for automated signal detection (BCPNN)
1997 Promotion of communication as a necessary discipline
1998 Internet discussion group for national centres
2001 Start of Vigibase Online project
2002 New database system (Vigiflow)
2003 New Drug Dictionary with expanded data fields; agreement with IMS Health to increase information in DD
2004 Pattern recognition using the BCPNN on health databases to find safety information.

Thomas Mann urge in Medical writing

Many scientific authors hold a firm belief that sentences crowded with information add value to their scientific message, and yet they achieve the opposite. Although this problem is evident across the entire
scientific literature, it is clearly more pronounced among authors with a language background other than English, for example, German or French. The temptation to use ample decoration also comes from the mixing of creative and scientific writing is termed as Thomas Mann urge.

Scientific texts resulting from myths and misconceptions- Medical Writing

Scientific texts resulting from myths and misconceptions:

• long and complicated sentences instead of short, 
• clear sentences (Germanic strings of words) · 
• mixing creative and scientific writing ·scientific “story” not readily apparent  
• poor structuring of text ·mixing actual results and their discussion  
• inconsistent use of technical terms and units  
• misusing or wasting specific and generic terms  
• reluctance to use first-person pronouns and overuse of passive voice  
• tendency to turn sharp and powerful verbs into weighty nouns

Vancouver Style in Medical writing

Many current journals refer to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication. This guideline was initially drawn up by a small group of editors of general medical journals in 1978. Because the group had met informally in
Vancouver, British Columbia, they became known as the Vancouver Group ( Reference Formats and the Uniform Requirements).
Subsequently, the Vancouver Group expanded and evolved into the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) which meets annually. The ICMJE has gradually broadened its concerns to include other aspects of scientific reporting, e.g., ethical principles related to publication in  biomedical journals.