Patients See Value In Their Reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions

Patients surveyed considered online reporting of adverse drug reactions useful rather than burdensome, according to study results published online ahead of print in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety. 

“Patient-reported outcomes on adverse drug reactions are increasingly used in cohort event monitoring to obtain a better understanding of patients’ real-world experience with drugs,” wrote a team of researchers in The Netherlands. “Despite the leading role for patients, little is known about their perspectives on cohort event monitoring systems.” 

The study used a cross-sectional open survey to gauge patients’ views of reporting adverse drug reactions from biologics using a drug safety monitoring system. 

Reporting adverse drug reactions via web-based questionnaires would not be burdensome but useful, patients said. They preferred to link the frequency of questionnaires to regular hospital appointments or the biologic administration schedule, according to the study. 

Nearly half of patients expressed interest in sharing questionnaires with their medical specialist and just over a third with their pharmacist. 

“Since incorporation of patients’ perspectives in cohort event monitoring studies is indispensable, a delicate balance should be found between user-friendliness and study aims,” researchers advised.

Reference: 

Kosse LJ, Weits G, Vonkeman HE, et al. Patients' perspectives on a drug safety monitoring system for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases based on patient-reported outcomes [published online ahead of print, 2021 Aug 5]. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2021;10.1080/14740338.2021.1963436. doi:10.1080/14740338.2021.1963436