The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
A short animation about the value of reporting drug side effects is being used as part of a social media campaign by the UK’s drug safety watchdog.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which regulates medicines and medical devices in the UK, hopes the animation, available on YouTube, will encourage patients to report side effects directly or to inform health professionals about the side effects they are experiencing so they can be officially recorded.
Mick Foy, group manager for the MHRA’s vigilance and risk management of medicines division, says: “Our campaign will help the public, patients and healthcare professionals report potential side effects and have confidence that their reports are making a difference.”
He says any suspected side effects can be reported easily and quickly through the MHRA’s Yellow Card scheme, either online or via a mobile app.
The MHRA campaign, which began on 7 November 2016 and will run until 11 November 2016, is part of the Europe-wide Strengthening Collaboration for Operating Pharmacovigilance in Europe (SCOPE) joint action project. The project is being supported by 22 EU member states.
