Safety Information

#MedSafetyWeek 2026

What you need to know as a patient, parent or carer
What you need to know as a healthcare professional
How you can help
#MedSafetyWeek 2026 resources

#MedSafetyWeek is an annual global campaign each November aimed at encouraging people to report side effects from taking medicines.

This year, from 2 to 8 November 2026, we celebrate the eleventh annual #MedsafetyWeek with the theme, ‘side effects - don't ignore them, report them’.

The 2026 #MedSafetyWeek event will be the largest to date. Medsafe is joining more than 130 organisations from over 120 countries who will be sharing #MedSafetyWeek’s messages in more than 60 languages.

What you need to know as a patient, parent or carer

There are many different types of medicine side effects. It could be a rash, a headache, an upset stomach, changes in mood, or something else entirely.

Don’t ignore suspected side effects – report them and help protect others from harm.

If you think your medicine may have caused a side effect, don't ignore it. Talk to your healthcare professional and then submit a report to Medsafe/CARM.

Reporting side effects helps regulatory agencies like Medsafe understand more about the safety profile of medicines, which can improve the safe use of medicines.

Learn more about side effects

What you need to know as a healthcare professional

Engage with patients, parents or guardians, and carers to identify their concerns. Stay alert for suspected side effects at all stages of care and report them promptly.

Don’t delay – each individual report helps gather more information about the safety of medicines.

You don’t have to be certain that the medicine caused the reaction – if you think a patient has experienced a side effect, submit a report to Medsafe/CARM.

Learn more about reporting

How you can help

You can support #MedSafetyWeek by:

Liking and sharing #MedSafetyWeek posts on social media
Sharing #MedSafetyWeek animations and key messages through your channels, websites and newsletters
Displaying our #MedSafetyWeek posters.

This #MedSafetyWeek, Medsafe is also launching a survey to better understand healthcare professionals’ and consumers’ knowledge, experiences and behaviours around reporting suspected side effects of medicines.

We want to hear from you, whether or not you have reported side effects before. The survey will be open from 2 November 2026 until 15 January 2027.

Learn more and take the survey