Improving adverse drug event reporting by healthcare professionals (29 October 2024)

Summary

Adverse drug events, including adverse drug reactions and medication errors, pose a significant threat to health, leading to illness and in severe cases death. This systematic review aimed to assess the effectiveness of different interventions aimed at healthcare professionals to improve the reporting of adverse drug events.

The authors concluded that, compared to usual practice, the number of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports submitted may substantially increase following an education session, paired with reminder card and ADR report form, and may slightly increase with the use of a standardised discharge form method that makes it easier for healthcare professionals to report ADRs.