MHRA – The Importance of Reporting

pills-hand-smallThis week, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is running a social media campaign to stress the importance of reporting suspected side effects. The campaign, which runs from 7 – 11 November, has been launched as part of the Strengthening Collaboration for Operating Pharmacovigilance in Europe (SCOPE) awareness initiative and is being championed by 22 member states across social media.

At the centre of the MHRA campaign is a video animation showing the story of a patient who has experienced a suspected adverse reaction. It shows the patient taking the medicine, a suspected side effect being experienced, how reports are made by patients or healthcare professionals to the medicines regulator, and how this benefits future patients. The overall aim of the campaign is to make people aware of the importance of reporting side effects. The MHRA rely on the reporting of suspected side effects to help make sure medicines on the market are acceptably safe. If side effects aren’t reported, unsafe medications can remain on the market.

Mick Foy, group manager for MHRA’s Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines division said:

“The most important part of our work is making sure the medicines you and your family take are effective and acceptably safe.

“Our campaign will help the public, patients and healthcare professionals report potential side effects and have confidence that their reports are making a difference.”

So what should you do if you want to report something? Who do you go to?

If you suspect that your medications are causing some side effects, you can report them through the MHRA Yellow Card app, “The Yellow Card Scheme is vital in helping the MHRA monitor the safety of all healthcare products in the UK to ensure they are acceptably safe for patients and those that use them. Reports can be made for all medicines including vaccines, blood factors and immunoglobulins, herbal medicines and homeopathic remedies, and all medical devices available on the UK market.”

To find out more about the Yellow Card app, or to find out how you can download it, please visit their website.

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