According to research published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, lack of awareness about reporting systems for drug reactions (ADRs) and confusion about how they work are preventing patients from informing medicines safety regulators when something goes wrong.
The patients who do log a report say preventing other patients from having a similar experience and improving medicines safety and health care professional practice are amongst the reasons why they take action.
The results monitor a methodical review of 21 studies published between 2008 and 2014 that consider patient obstructions to reporting ADRs, their perceptions of the current reporting systems and the factors which influence whether they make an official report.
According to the research increasing patient familiarity and providing clear reporting processes, reporting systems could better achieve patients reporting of adverse drug reactions.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK’s medicines safety regulator, agrees that some patients are dissuaded from reporting ADRs through its official Yellow Card system.
Dated: 25th November 2016