MHRA speaks to EPM about Yellow Card app success
Last week the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulations Agency (MHRA) launched a smartphone app to increase participation of patients and healthcare professionals in its Yellow Card Scheme for reporting side-effects to medicines and vaccines. Phil Tregunno, signal management unit manager at MHRA, spoke to EPM about the benefits of the app and its success so far.
In what ways has the app made the reporting of side-effects easier?
The Yellow Card app enables reporting of side-effects on the move. This could be by a busy healthcare professional on a ward of a hospital, by a patient on their way to work or a parent who is taking their child to the GP. Importantly though, the app isn’t just designed to enable easier reporting of side-effects, it’s also aimed to improve access to information reported to the Yellow Card Scheme and safety messages published by the MHRA. The app includes high level adverse drug reaction (ADR) data, as well as a ‘Watch List’ that enables users to receive news items for products that are of interest to them.
How many times has the Yellow Card app been downloaded?
Since its launch on 14th July, the app has been downloaded 326 times on iOS (up to 21/07/2015) and 146 times on Android (up to 19/07/2015).
Has there been an increase in feedback as a result?
One of the key features of the app is the ability for patients and healthcare professionals to view news feeds on information published by the MHRA on products that they are interested in. This is the first time the MHRA has been able to provide news to stakeholders on specific drugs that they are interested in. It is hoped these features will significantly improve engagement with the Yellow Card Scheme, which in turn may improve reporting and patient awareness of side-effects.
Feedback received about the app has been extremely positive; there have been over 450 interactions through social media channels, as well as a number of suggestions for features that might be added in future. The app has been developed through the Innovative Medicines Initiative’s WEB-RADR project, which is led by the MHRA. Over the course of the three-year project there will be a number of enhancements made to the app in light of user experience. There is a project workstream focused on user evalution of the app, and the MHRA are keen to receive feedback to help us develop the app further though the project.
Has enough effort gone into making the public aware of the Yellow Card Scheme in the past and will there be an increased drive to promote it in the future?
The Yellow Card Scheme recently passed its 50th Anniversary of collection of ADR reports to improve patient safety. Over that time, the scheme has evolved significantly to increase access to different reporter groups, and it now receives more reports than ever, but we believe engagement can be improved further. The app forms an important part of the Yellow Card Roadmap, which looks to further increase awareness of the scheme and its outputs over the coming years and includes activities such as embedding the Yellow Card into healthcare IT systems.
Should doctors and pharmacists be routinely making patients aware of the Yellow Card scheme when prescribing or selling medicines?
We would always encourage healthcare professionals to make patients aware of the potential for side-effects when being prescribed a new medicine, and when reviewing their existing medicines, they should mention the Yellow Card Scheme for reporting of any side-effects. In addition, information for patients on how to report side-effects to the scheme is now being included on Patient Information Leaflets.