"Yellow cards" which would allow members of the public to report adverse side effects from drugs should be widely available in clinics, pharmacies and health centres, according to an Oireachtas health subcommittee report published yesterday.
If accompanied by increased publicity targeted at prescribers, pharmacists and the public as well as online reporting, this could help to increase levels of such reporting here, it suggests.
The report, details of which were published in yesterday's paper, also highlights concerns about the lack of State-funded continuing medical education for practitioners, and calls for the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) to be divided into two separate agencies. Elsewhere, it suggests that a register of "significant benefits" should be considered by the Medical Council to address the risk of potential conflicts of interest.
At the launch of its report into the adverse side effects of pharmaceuticals, subcommittee chairman Paudge Connolly TD said there was a need to educate the country that "every ill doesn't need a pill". He also noted that when medical professionals had been provided with financial encouragement to report adverse side effects of drugs, the level of such reporting had increased.
Fine Gael spokesman on health and subcommittee member Dr Liam Twomey TD said he supported the report's suggestions about dividing the IMB, which had a "fierce important" role to play. This was particularly true given that adverse side effects of drugs are often not seen until they are available on the market.
Brian Murphy of the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association said the report made some "very positive statements" about the role of pharmaceuticals. The industry would have "no problem" with its recommendations regarding greater transparency, but he labelled as "unfair" its concerns about the industry's promotion of drugs and drug use, saying any individual with a concern could contact the IPHA and this would be fully investigated.
Dr John Hillery, president of the Medical Council, said the overall report, including its suggestions regarding the possibility of a register of significant benefits, would feed into an ongoing review of its ethics guidelines.