Adverse reactions to meds online
Consumers and health professionals can now access online information about adverse events to medicines that have been reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) since 1971. Announcing the new online resource, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, said the Database of Adverse Event Notifications, includes adverse event reports about prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines sold in pharmacies and supermarkets, as well as complementary medicines such as vitamins and herbal remedies.
Consumers and health professionals can now access online information about adverse events to medicines that have been reported to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) since 1971.
Announcing the new online resource, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, said the Database of Adverse Event Notifications, includes adverse event reports about prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines sold in pharmacies and supermarkets, as well as complementary medicines such as vitamins and herbal remedies.
“The database contains about 251,000 reports of adverse events. These reports were made by consumers, health professionals and the regulated industry,” she claimed.
“This is a great advance in transparency by Australia’s medicines regulator, and I expect the public and industry will welcome this information resource which will improve reporting of adverse events.”
Ms King added it was important for consumers to understand the information about adverse events to a medicine was “not necessarily” an indication of that medicine’s effectiveness.
“The data should not influence a person’s decision to stop taking a medicine – it is simply meant to give consumers additional information that they can discuss with their healthcare professional if they have any concerns,” she warned.
“All consumers should read the Consumer Medicines Information that comes with prescription or pharmacist-only medicines, before taking any medicine.”
Ms King claimed, for the first time, the public can search the database by the name of a medicine to find out commonly reported adverse events to a particular medicine and the reaction/s experienced by people taking other medications.
“This is a great new resource provided by the TGA to make the work of the regulator more transparent and accessible to the community and to industry,” she said.
The TGA relies on the public, healthcare professionals, manufacturers and suppliers to report problems with medicines or medical devices, allowing it to identify and respond to safety problems.
You can search the Database of Adverse Events on the TGA website.
