The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 269 No 7207 p97-101
20 July 2002

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  Drug names
  ADR reporting
  Evidence-based medicine
  Confidentiality
  Diabetes
  Remuneration
  Science in pharmacy
  Diarrhoea
  The Society

Letters to the Editor

ADR reporting

Time can be made to file reports

From Ms J. Beeby, MRPharmS, and others

With regard to the article on the yellow card scheme (PDF* 50K) and the role of pharmacists as reporters (PJ, 6 July, p25) we find it surprising and disappointing to learn that pharmacists appear to report so few adverse drug reactions. As you rightly point out (ibid, p2) we are in an excellent position to identify ADRs.

Our district general hospital started an ADR reporting scheme in January 2001, as part of our clinical pharmacy service. At first reporting was slow but it has gradually picked up. So far this year (January–June), we have reported 42 ADRs from our admissions ward alone. Using your figure for last year's total and our own reporting rate figures, it appears that we report 4.5 per cent of the national hospital pharmacist total. Surely for a medium-sized, non-teaching district general hospital this is a substantial amount and may highlight under-reporting nationwide.

Certainly, the reporting of ADRs requires time and effort but with patient-centred pharmaceutical care and clinical pharmacy on wards, time can be made to further this important area of drug surveillance.

June Beeby

Mark Thomas

Andy Husband

Neil Gammack

Clinical Pharmacists,
Queen Elizabeth Hospital,
Gateshead, Tyne and Wear

An enormous investment will be needed for herbals

From Dr B. T. Marsh

I could not agree more with Dr Robert Woodward (PJ, July 13, p54). Not only will few community pharmacists stock unlicensed herbal products (I hesitate to call them medicines) but even fewer doctors will recommend them to their patients. Thus, if any pharmacovigilance exercise is to be set up to investigate the incidence of adverse reactions to these products, it will need an enormous investment in time and manpower to register and inspect the suppliers, wherever and whoever they are. It took us long enough eventually to have the Medicines Control Agency up and running. I hesitate to estimate the time needed to set up an agency for herbal products.

B. T. Marsh

Consultant in Pharmaceutical Medicine
Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire

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