Adverse drug reaction reporting: a working system

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are a severe problem. Up to 30% of hospitalized medical patients may have an ADR, and up to 5% of hospitalizations may be caused by an ADR. Reporting systems that track these reactions vary widely as to their capture rates. In a 12-month period, with the aid of the Medical Record Department at St. Elizabeth Hospital Medical Center, 150 adverse drug reactions were catalogued. Fifty-eight of these resulted in admission, while 92 occurred during hospitalization. Cardiovascular agents and antibiotics produced the most reports. Reactions are evaluated and tabulated by the Department of Pharmacy, and subsequently presented to the Pharmacy (P&T) Committee as part of the quality assurance program, which meets the standards mandated by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals. The reporting system is described in this article.