Published: 7 December 2023
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May the fours of adverse drug reaction reporting be with you
Published: 7 December 2023
Prescriber Update 44(4): 80–81
December 2023
This article is a reminder about the requirements for reporting an adverse
drug reaction (ADR), and how to report.
Anyone can report an ADR, including all healthcare professionals and patients/consumers.
Reporting requirements
There are only four requirements for a valid adverse drug reaction report:
- one patient identifier (such as the patient's name, initials, date of birth, NHI number, or your own patient identifier)
- suspect medicine(s)
- suspected reaction(s)
- reporter details (your name and contact details).
These are the minimum requirements for a valid report. However, including more information in your report will assist the Medical Assessors at the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM) with their causality assessment.
You can attach relevant clinical documents such as hospital discharge summary, specialist clinic letter or general practitioner/healthcare practitioner medical records to the report.
How to report
Reporting an ADR is easiest online. Figure 1 shows the first page of the adverse reactions reporting form.
You do not have to be certain that a medicine caused a reaction. A suspicion of an adverse drug reaction is all that is required to prompt a report. It is good practice to let your patient know that you will be making a report.
Figure 1: The adverse reactions reporting form
Reporting form URL: https://pophealth.my.site.com/carmreportnz/s/
Reporting follow-up information
If you have previously submitted an adverse drug reaction report, you can submit follow-up information as it becomes available using the same online reporting form. Please select the ‘follow-up’ option and include the adverse report reference number if you have it.
Want to know more?
- Each year, Medsafe publishes adverse drug reaction reporting statistics. You can find out about the ADRs reported each year in New Zealand, including what is being reported and by whom.
- Search for adverse drug reactions reported in New Zealand using the Suspected Medicine Adverse Reaction Search (SMARS).
