Abstract

In the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic, what are the lessons clinical pharmacology could learn to improve our teaching practice and involvement in research and ethics committees to make sure we are better prepared for the next emergency. Is there something in the light of the hydroxychloroquine hype that we as clinical pharmacologists or our professional societies could have done better? We propose updating the way we teach about drug development, rules and ethics of off-label prescribing and critical appraisal of primary sources when guidelines and top-level evidence are not available. Clinical pharmacology should play a leading role in the future re-definition of processes and guidelines for emergencies such as the one we faced in 2020.