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Listen to patients for a better understanding of drugs' adverse effects

Reporting of adverse effects by patients helps build an improved understanding of drugs.

Patients are those who are most concerned by drugs’ adverse effects, which can affect a person's quality of life, increase or prolong hospital stays, and even result in death.

Too few countries allow patients themselves to report drugs’ adverse effects directly to the pharmacovigilance centres (which collect information on drugs’ adverse effects). In most countries, including France, adverse effects are only recorded if they are reported by health professionals, which results in under-reporting.

The conclusions of several studies, borne out by the experience of some countries, confirm that reporting of adverse effects by patients complements reports by health professionals. It makes it possible to identify effects hitherto not described or ignored by the professionals, or to have a better description (using words that more closely describe the patient’s experience), with a quality of information identical to that provided by health professionals.

Patients are capable of identifying more adverse effects, often serious ones, (especially in terms of quality of life), with a strong link between cause and effect.

While waiting for the health authorities finally to allow patients to be involved, health professionals should listen carefully to what they have to say on the subject of adverse effects.

©Prescrire July 2008

Source: "Écouter les patients enrichit la pharmacovigilance" Rev Prescrire 2008 ; 28 (297) : 506-507.

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