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Britain will make data on drug side effects public
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LONDON — In response to public outcry over the side effects of some medicines, the British government will open a portion of its drug safety monitoring system to public scrutiny, according Reuters and other news agencies.
Patients will now be able to view anonymous reports of suspected adverse drug reactions on the Web site of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, the report said. In addition, researchers will have access to more detailed clinical information on drug side effects.
In the past, most information on unexpected drug reactions in Britain came from physicians and other health professionals. Now the public will be able to report adverse reactions directly to the country’s independent safety experts.
“Enabling patients to directly report unexpected drug reactions allows them to play their part in making medicines safer and helps the experts better monitor drug safety and protect public health,” Health Minister Lord Warner told Reuters.
The country’s current system, called the Yellow Card Scheme, was created in 1964 following the discovery of birth defects among women who took thalidomide while pregnant. Since then, more than 400,000 reports of suspected adverse drug reactions have been submitted to the government, according to news agency reports.