BMA urges doctors to report ADRs in UK

The British Medical Association is urging UK health care professionals to make more use of the adverse drug reaction reporting system, via the Yellow Card Scheme. Since the BMA's 1996 report on ADRs, a number of significant changes have been made to the Scheme.

Compared with other countries, the number of spontaneous ADR reports submitted in the UK is relatively high, and reporting rates in relation to prescription volumes are also among the best in Europe, notes the BMA. However, it says even more could be done, particularly with respect to the fact that more people are also using over-the-counter medicines, where identification of ADRs is more difficult.

The BMA's initiative has been welcomed by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Its Director responsible for the Yellow Card Scheme, June Raine, says it "is vital in monitoring the safety of medicines in the UK and we continually encourage health care professions to use it," noting that "there is no need to prove that the medicine caused the adverse reaction - just the suspicion is good enough."