A to Z of MS Yellow Card Scheme

The Yellow Card Scheme allows people to report side effects from drugs to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the organisation that licenses and monitors safety of drugs in the UK.

As well as demonstrating the effect of new drugs, research trials also include the identification of possible side effects. However, some side effects may occur in so few people that they do not become apparent in group of people who have tested the drug and will only be seen when it is in wider use.

Information gathered from Yellow Card reports is continually assessed at the MHRA by a team of medicine safety experts who study the benefits and risks of medicines. If a new side effect is identified, information is carefully considered and depending on the frequency and seriousness of such reports, the product information may undergo changes, carry additional warnings or in rare cases, be withdrawn.

The Yellow Card Scheme allows anyone using any drug - prescribed, over the counter, and herbal preparations - to report side effects, known as adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The scheme can be used by health professionals, people taking the drug or carers.

Yellow Cards are available from pharmacies and GP surgeries or reports can be made through the MHRA website where reports from the Scheme can also be accessed.

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