Lack of awareness contributes to under-reporting of adverse drug reactions

Around 75% of Australians have experienced a bad reaction to a medication, but fewer than half have reported it to a doctor or the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), a new survey has found.

A study by the University of South Australia, polling 544 adults taking one or more medicines, has found that only 36 % of those who experienced an adverse drug reaction (ADR) let health authorities know – by phone, email, in person or via the TGA website.

Most of them were unaware they could use digital tools to report the ADR, helping regulatory authorities to more closely assess specific medications to detect any negative patterns.

In Australia, up to 3 % of all hospital admissions are due to medication-related harm, resulting in an estimated 250,000 admissions and costing the healthcare system $1.4 billion every year.

A $1.7 million Federal Government NHMRC grant is now helping UniSA researchers to develop new, consumer-focused digital tools to make it easier to report ADRs and cut health costs.

Lead researcher UniSA PhD candidate Mohammed Dedefo says international studies have shown that digital tools can double the incidence of ADR reporting, but lack of awareness about this option in Australia is contributing to under-reporting.

“Strengthening the vigilance around medication-related harm is essential to monitor the safety of medicines in hospitals and other settings,” he says.

“The main reason why most people don’t report adverse drug reactions is because they do not think it is serious enough. However, many don’t know how to report them either.”

Integrating digital reporting options into widely used healthcare apps and patient portals would increase the reporting rates, researchers say.

Co-author Associate Professor Lisa Kalisch Ellett says leveraging social media and other online platforms would also help reach a broader audience and raise awareness about the need to report ADRs.

“This data would help the TGA to conduct more thorough assessments and issue warnings to health professionals and consumers if warranted,” Assoc Prof Kalisch Ellett says.

Medication information could be updated, or the medication withdrawn in the most serious cases.”

Lisa Kalisch Ellett,  Associate Professor and Co-author, UniSA

The current reporting system, developed by the TGA, is not well-known to most consumers, the researchers say, and is mainly used by pharmaceutical companies.

The findings have been published in the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.

September 17 is World Patient Safety Day.